The Effect of a 12-Week Physical Functional Training-Based Physical Education Intervention on Students' Physical Fitness-A Quasi-Experimental Study

• Published in: International journal of environmental research and public health Vol. 20; no. 5; p. 3926
• Main Authors: Li, Hailing, Cheong, Jadeera Phaik Geok, Hussain, Bahar
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 22.02.2023; MDPI
• Subjects: Child; Children; Core curriculum; Curriculum; Education; Elementary school students; Exercise; Health aspects; Humans; Intervention; Physical education; Physical Education and Training; Physical Fitness; Power; Quasi-experimental methods; Sports medicine; Students; China; Beijing China; primary school; physical education and health curriculum model; fitness assessment; health growth
• ISSN: 1660-4601; 1661-7827; 1660-4601
• DOI: 10.3390/ijerph20053926

Children have received much attention in recent years, as many studies have shown that their physical fitness level is on the decline. Physical education, as a compulsory curriculum, can play a monumental role in contributing to students' participation in physical activities and the enhancement of their physical fitness. The aim of this study is to examine the effects of a 12-week physical functional training intervention program on students' physical fitness. A total of 180 primary school students (7-12 years) were invited to participate in this study, 90 of whom participated in physical education classes that included 10 min of physical functional training, and the remaining 90 were in a control group that participated in traditional physical education classes. After 12 weeks, the 50-m sprint (F = 18.05, < 0.001, ηp2 = 0.09), timed rope skipping (F = 27.87, < 0.001, ηp2 = 0.14), agility -test (F = 26.01, < 0.001, ηp2 = 0.13), and standing long jump (F = 16.43, < 0.001, ηp2 = 0.08) were all improved, but not the sit-and-reach (F = 0.70, 0.405). The results showed that physical education incorporating physical functional training can effectively promote some parameters of students' physical fitness, while at the same time providing a new and alternative idea for improving students' physical fitness in physical education.