Value priorities in the views of Latvian and Italian Sport science students

Body represents a bio-ontological synthesis of the human being and a fundamental component of education itself. This study aims at drawing the hierarchy of body values in sport sciences university students, who will be future educators and professionals of body care and well-being, in order to understand their preferences, the limitations of moral education taught in Latvian and Italian universities and the possible cultural differences that can emerge from the two societies. To carry out the research, about 200 students – female and male and 100 per country – attending the course of sport sciences at LASE (Latvian Academy of Sport Education) in Riga and at Foro Italico University in Rome, were selected. The students’ values hierarchy was obtained through a Spanish test adapted and translated into Italian and Latvian. The aim of the test was to detect the level of agreeability or disagreeability shown by each student when presented with some words regarding 10 main body value models, that is: biological body; ecological body; instrumental body; dynamic/sporting body, emotional/social body; ethical body; esthetical body; religious body; intellectual body; pleasure body. The data obtained were statistically processed and compared. The results showed that the hierarchy of body values in young students of sports sciences is broadly in line with those of the postmodern society and education and that there are differences in the perception of values among students due to cultural differences and the traditions of the societies in which they live. The research also highlighted the need to develop a more effective moral education, focusing on ethics, in the curricula of the two universities studied.