Problems of maintaining high motivation of students to have Physical Education lessons at the stage of transition from primary general secondary school to basic general secondary school

The beginning of the adolescence period is characterized by restructuring of the motivational sphere of the personality and changes in the social situation in education. During this difficult period, Physical Education lessons for adolescents often turn into a routine, motivation for them ceases to develop. The authors presented the results of the study of the fifth graders’ motivation to have Physical Education lessons, developed the tasks of forming motivation when moving from the first stage of study to the second one according to the gender principle, since gender determines both the pace of psychological development of schoolchildren and the orientation of motivation, which also develops under the influence of interests actively formed in this period. The authors showed that schoolchildren come to the basic general secondary school with a moderately positive force of motivation. Boys are at the emotional stage in the development of motivation, they have identified prerequisites for the formation of the constructive-active and spiritual-creative orientation of motivation. The motivational sphere of girls is characterized by the socio-emotional orientation, is in the state of restructuring, has some shortage of relevant motives, what makes some threat to polymotivation in the future, is defined by integration of knowledge, activity, socio-personal and personal motives in the significant zone. Common tasks in increasing motivation will be the formation of an idea of health and ways to preserve it, the formation of ideas of personal self-improvement, means of physical education for personal development. For boys, the current tasks will be the formation of the spiritual and creative orientation, carried out on the basis of revealing the links between theoretical ideas about health and practical development and implementation of individual health programs for a healthy lifestyle. For girls, expanding the field of relevant motives by transferring the motivational orientation from emotionally effective to socially effective or personality-effective on the basis of the differentiation of significant motives, training in socially prestigious ways of achieving recognition in a socially significant group through various types of health activities, focusing on individual psychological, morphofunctional and motor abilities. The authors proposed pedagogical means for solving these problems.