Article
The article presents an analytical review of dissertation research in the field of physical culture and sports submitted for consideration to the Expert Council on Pedagogy and Psychology of the Higher Attestation Commission (HAC) of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of Russia in 2025. The analysis covers the quantity, focus, topics, quality of dissertations, grounds for their completion, data on the authors, organizations of preparation, implementation, and defense. These indicators are examined with differentiation by scientific specialties: 5.8.4. Physical Culture and Professional Physical Training, 5.8.5. Theory and Methodology of Sports, and 5.8.6. Health-Improving and Adaptive Physical Culture.
The research purpose: to summarize the results of the examination of dissertation research in the field of physical culture and sports in 2025 and compare them with the results of previous years.
Research design and methods. The study was conducted in January 2026. General logical methods of theoretical research were applied: analysis, generalization, synthesis, abstraction, and systematization.
Results and discussion. The study revealed the persistence of a trend towards an increase in the number of dissertation studies in the field of physical culture and sports. At the same time, the most intensively developed issues pertain to specialty 5.8.5. Theory and Methodology of Sports, as evidenced by both data on the number of works and an analysis of their topics. In 2025, 70.8% of the dissertations reviewed were completed in eight higher education institutions, seven of which are sports-focused. More than half of the works were prepared based on the results of postgraduate studies. Doctoral degree holders predominantly supervised candidate dissertations. The average age of applicants is 37 years. The quality assessment of dissertation research was carried out comprehensively and includes a description of positive and negative trends and a general characterization of shortcomings. The shortcomings mainly concern research methodology, aspects of novelty and relevance, the logic of constructing the evidence base, and terminology. Two examples of expert opinions are presented as illustrations of the evaluation criteria – for dissertations that received positive and negative decisions based on the review results.
Conclusion. There is a noted overall improvement in the quality of dissertation research in the field of physical culture and sports reviewed by the Expert Council on Pedagogy and Psychology of the HAC of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of Russia in 2025. This is confirmed by a twofold reduction in the number of negative decisions compared to 2024.
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