Effects of game-based physical education program on enjoyment in children and adolescents: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract

Objective The objective of this study was to conduct a systematic review to summarize and assess the advancements lately made on the enjoyable impacts of game-based physical education interventions on children and adolescents. Additionally, it attempted to identify the effects and variables influencing the enjoyable outcomes of children and adolescents’ engagement in physical education games, through meta-analysis. Methods This study involves a comprehensive search of different databases like Web of Science, PubMed, Embase, EBSCOhost, Cochrane, and Scopus. Specific criteria are established for the selection process to make sure the relevant literature included. The quality assessment of the included researches is conducted based on the guidelines outlined in the Cochrane 5.1 handbook. Review Manager 5.3 software is employed to synthesis the effect sizes. Additionally, bias is assessed using funnel plots, and to identify potential sources of heterogeneity, subgroup analyses are performed. Results A total of 1907 academic papers, out of which 2 articles were identified via other data sources. The present study examined the impact of a pedagogical intervention involving physical education games on the enjoyment experienced by children and adolescents. The results indicated a significant positive effect (MD = 0.53, 95%CI:[0.27,0.79], P < 0.05) of this intervention on enjoyment. Subgroup analyses further revealed that both boys (MD = 0.31, 95%CI:[0.13,0.50], P < 0.05) and girls (MD = 0.28, 95%CI:[0.05,0.51], P < 0.05) experienced increased pleasure compared to traditional physical education. Additionally, children under 12 years of age (MD = 0.41, 95%CI:[0.17,0.64], P < 0.05) benefited from sessions lasting at least 30 minutes or more per session (MD = 0.40, 95%CI:[0.19,0.60], P < 0.05), occurring 1 to 3 times per week (MD = 0.28, 95%CI:[0.16,0.40], P < 0.05), and lasting for more than 3 weeks (MD = 0.81, 95%CI:[0.29,1.34], P < 0.05). These findings suggest that the implementation of physical education games can be an effective approach to teaching this subject. Conclusions 1) Interventions using physical games have been shown to yield beneficial outcomes in terms of enhancing the enjoyment experienced by children and adolescents. 2) The effectiveness of treatments aimed at promoting enjoyment among children and adolescents is influenced by several aspects, including gender, age, duration and frequency of physical activity, as well as the specific cycle of activity used.

The impact of adapted exercises in basketball on the perception of the difficulty and physical enjoyment of students with overweight

“…As is known, physical exercise produces sensations of pleasure that depend on the participation and commitment of students in the activity carried out [ 51 ]; thus, our results substantiate antecedent research which demonstrated that enjoyment is a construct related to physical activity, enthusiasm, and involvement of students [ 46 ].…”

“…Our results supported these hypotheses, demonstrating a significant reduction in perceived difficulty among participants of both sexes after the adapted basketball cycle, as well as a significant increase in physical enjoyment among girls, confirming the effectiveness of adapted physical education interventions in enhancing the experience of adolescents with overweight during physical activity while highlighting a gender difference in response. In particular, the best results obtained on girls are of significant interest, as earlier research has revealed that girls not only face more impediment to physical activity than boys [ 45 ], but that boys are more likely to experience enjoyment from physical activities [ 46 , 47 ].…”

“…However, sensations of pleasure are inversely related to the intensity of the exercise. Feelings of high exercise intensity, perceived difficulty, and frustration influence overweight students' activity during physical education lessons [ 28 , 30 ]; therefore, the enjoyment experienced by children and adolescents is greater when they are taught physical education games compared to standard teaching [ 46 ]. Similarly to other studies, this research on basketball games shows a greater enjoyment levels [ 9 , 52 ], rendering it a more advisable type of technique confronted to conventional teaching methods that do not use games.…”