Effects of Game-based Physical Education Program on Enjoyment in Children and Adolescents : A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

doi:10.21203/rs.3.rs-3575317/v1

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Research Article

Effects of Game-based Physical Education Program on Enjoyment in Children and Adolescents : A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-3575317/v1

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published 19 Feb, 2024

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Objective: The objective of this research was to use a systematic review methodology in order to investigate the impact of a game-based physical education intervention on the enjoyment experienced by children and adolescents.Additionally, a meta-analysis is adopted to identify the factors for enjoyment promotion during their participation in physical education games.

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 1,907 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.

Enjoyment

Game-based

Physical education

Children and adolescents

Meta-analysis

Enjoyment is a subjective experience with pleasant emotions, such as pleasure, like, and fun (1). The enjoyment that comes to children and teenagers throughout the process of learning has an advantageous impact on their academic achievement (2). The experience of enjoyment elicits intrinsic motivation, which subsequently enhances the degree of engagement, energy, and efforts of children and adolescents in their learning endeavours (3, 4). Furthermore, this rising motivation contributes to increased learning efficiency and a prolonged learning duratio (5, 6). In contrast, falling enjoyment can diminish interest and engagement in the learning process (7, 8). Therefore, the cultivation of enjoyable feelings in children and adolescents has a crucial role in enhancing educational achievements.

Physical education has been proved to positively affect mental and physical health and weight of children and adolescents, and alleviate health disorders. This is evident from various outcomes such as enhanced physical health (9), the prevention of non-communicable chronic diseases (NCDs) and mental disorders (10), the promotion of mental well-being (11), the facilitation of increasing engagement in physical activities, and falling childhood obesity (12, 13).The emotional influence of physical education on experienced enjoyment in children and adolescents offers notable benefits (14), both at individual and team levels, by fostering teamwork and socialization (15). Consequently, the investigation of the enjoyable aspects of physical education activities for children and adolescents is crucial (16).

Compared with traditional physical education, physical education games have several advantages. The implementation of physical play interventions has the potential to facilitate the acquisition of knowledge and skills among children and adolescents, enabling them to get enjoyment from the process of learning. Azlan et al. (17) contends that amusement inclusion in traditional games can effectively motivate less physically active students to actively participate in physical education classes, a feat that organized sports cannot achieve. Kolovelonis & Goudas (18) demonstrates that involving students in their preferred games can strengthen their enjoyment, subsequently enhancing their motivation to engage in physical courses. Liao et al. (19) asserts games can ensure student contentment with physical education, help skills development, provide a relaxing playing environment, instill the interpersonal interaction value, and offer opportunities to foster cooperation and socialization.

Hence, physical games instruction presents a novel avenue in the realm of conventional physical courses (20). This approach fosters enjoyment and also aligns with the imperative for social and physical engagement in students’ educational journey (21). Moreover, it plays a pivotal role in fostering sustainable involvement of children and adolescents in physical education and sports (22). Based on a comprehensive analysis of 10 scholarly investigations, it has been observed that games in physical education has yielded positive results in terms of enhancing children and adolescents’ pleasure (1, 18, 23–30). Yet, one research found that teaching physical education games to children and adolescents had a detrimental influence on their satisfaction: a loss of novelty and interest over a 12-week period fundamentally lowered enjoyment over time (31). Five other studies show uncertainty about the potential impact of physical game instruction on their enjoyment (17, 32–35). However, there is no thorough and systematic investigation on the correlation between physical games and enjoyment experienced by children and adolescents, and the impact of possible confounding variables on treatments including physical game instruction (such as gender, age, duration, etc.). This research aims to investigate the impact of physical games on the enjoyment of children and adolescents. For this, meta-analysis, together with subgroup analysis, is adopted to comprehensively review the previous studies on the subject.

In this research, a meta-analysis and systematic review is applied to answer the following questions: 1) whether teaching games in physical education has a beneficial influence on enjoyment experienced by children and adolescents, and 2) how other essential elements mitigate the influence of games teaching in physical education on enjoyment experienced by children and adolescents. Due to inconsistent findings from earlier research, there is no consensus on the link of physical games for enjoyment in children and adolescents; yet there is optimism that teaching physical play may have a favorable impact on enjoyment.

2.1 Search strategy and standards for selection

This research is conducted under the guidance of Cochrane Handbook for the Systematic Review of Interventions (36) and the PRISMA Statement Specification for Systematic Review and Meta-analysis (37).

This research explores six databases, namely Web of Science, PubMed, Embase, EBSCOhost, Scopus and Cochrane. PubMed is primarily adopted to identify medical terms (Mesh). The search period spans from the initiation of database collection until July 25, 2023. Both subject terms and the free word approach are included in the search. The following table consists of many columns. This study firstly focuses on the research object and then emphasizes the intervention strategy. In the third line, the result index is built by connecting the search words using the logical operator “or” inside each group of search terms. Additionally, the search phrases are linked by “or” between each set of search terms. Table 1 displays the whole search words used in the six databases.

Table 1

Search terms
Search term classification	Search term content
Subject of intervention	Students (Mesh terms), Student; School Enrollment; Enrollment, School; Enrollments, School; School Enrollments; Adolescent (Mesh terms); Adolescents; Adolescence; Teens; Teen; Teenagers; Teenager; Youth; Youths; Adolescents, Female; Adolescent, Female; Female Adolescent. Female Adolescents; Adolescents, Male; Adolescent, Male; Male Adolescent; Male Adolescents;Child (Mesh terms), children; juvenile; school-aged children
Type of intervention	Game; games; Physical Education and Training (Mesh terms); Physical Education, Training; Physical Education; Education, Physical;Teaching games;Teaching sports ;Sport pedagogy
Ending indicators	Pleasure (Mesh terms); Gratification; Enjoyment; Satisfaction; Delight; Fun; Diversion; Delectation

2.2 Criteria for inclusion and exclusion

Research that meet the following requirements are selected for systematic evaluation:(1) the intervention modality is physical game teaching; (2) the subjects are children and adolescents (3–18 years old); (3) the outcome indicator is the inclusion of enjoyment related MeSH and Entry Terms; (4) the use of a control group; and (5) the articles are written in English.

Researches reach the following standards are omitted from systematic evaluation: (1) the intervention method is not physical game teaching; (2) the experimental subjects are infants, adults, animals, and specific populations (psychiatric patients), etc., (3) the outcome indicator is the absence of pleasure-related subject terms and free words; (4) no control group is included; (5) the articles are written in other non-English languages; (6) review article; and (7) conference articles.

2.3 Screening process

Upload the relevant literature to Endnote (version X9) for organization. Following this, duplicate results are screened by two authors (MWL and LYM) independently. The screening process include reviewing titles, review articles, conference papers, and animal experiments. Read the abstracts to exclude articles that fail to meet such criteria as study subjects or interventions. Finally, read the full text of selected articles to exclude those that are inaccessible, non-English and does not provide end point indicators. The process involves an initial screening of eligible articles, a discussion of any discrepancy and reaching a consensus with the third author (LJQ). Ultimately, 16 articles are selected for the systematic analysis. Detailed information about these steps are presented in the PRISMA flowchart (refer to Fig. 1).

2.4 Extraction of data and quality evaluation

Three authors (MWL, LYM, and LJQ) extract data from eligible papers in an impartial manner. Any divergence is resolved through discussion until an agreement is reached. The extracted information is then placed in the publications respectively. (1) the extracted information primarily includes the name of the first author and the publication year. (2) the subjects’ features encompass the total sample size, age, and gender. (3) detailed data, like duration, frequency, and cycle, about the teaching process of physical education and sport games are included. (4) the intervention tool employed in the study is a questionnaire or scale designed to measure the degree of pleasure, satisfaction and motivation before and after physical education. (5) the intervention items utilized in the study are game items specifically employed for physical education. (6) the outcome indicators encompass various factors, including the level of pleasure, satisfaction, and motivation before and after physical education and sport activities. Pleasure may be defined as the state of experiencing gratification, enjoyment, satisfaction, delight, or fun. (7) the writers emphasize the importance of significant results.

The Cochrane 5.1 handbook is applied to assess the quality of bias. The evaluation includes one aspect, namely the random allocation procedure and the concealing of allocation schemes. In this research, the evaluation criteria are: 3) participant blinding and outcome assessment, 4) complete outcome data, 5) selective report findings, and 6) bias from other sources. Each criterion is assessed as having either a low risk (an indication for meeting the criterion), a high risk (an indication for not satisfying the criterion), or a medium risk (if not mentioned), with a note explaining the reason for this assessment. Two researchers assesses the article quality independently. Any divergence in their evaluations are solved by discussing with another author. Figure 2 shows the evaluation findings and the detailed information. A sensitivity analysis is conducted whereby each article is systematically removed one at a time. The analysis reveals that the findings are mostly unchanged, which suggests that the results are robust and reliable.

2.5 Statistical analysis

Review Manager 5.3, a statistical software, is applied to merge effect sizes and assess for bias. In this analysis, the indicator continuous variable is incorporated, making the results presented as mean ± standard deviation (Mean ± SD). The I² and Q tests are adopted to evaluate heterogeneity between studies. The fixed-effects model is applied as the I² < 50% or p > 0.1, indicating the studies lack statistical heterogeneity. In contrast, a random-effects model is adopted to evaluate publication bias using funnel plots and to examine the reliability of the findings.

3.1 Search results

A comprehensive search for 1,907 articles in total is conducted. The databases for search are Web of Science (1473 articles), PubMed (33 articles), Embase (75 articles), EBSCO host (154 articles), Cochrane (95 articles), and Scopus (75 articles). All identified articles are uploaded to Endnote (version X9), a reference management software. By examining the article titles, a total of 207 duplicate items are eliminated from further analysis. The articles are uploaded to Endnote (version X9), and after examining the titles, a total of 207 duplicates are removed. The dataset comprises 321 conference papers, 44 review articles, 31 articles with inconsistent subjects, 1 article applying inconsistent measurement tools, 94 articles employing inconsistent interventions, 66 articles featuring different endpoints as determined after reading the full text. 14 articles presenting results deviate from the mean ± standard deviation format. A total of 27 publications without a control group are identified, and 8 articles written in non-English languages are excluded. Additionally, the full texts of 26 articles are incomplete or unavailable. Hence, a final set of 16 eligible articles is included in the meta-analysis.

3.2 Basic features of the included articles

Table 2

Summary of features of included interventions
First author Year	Sample size characteristics	Age	duration	frequency	cyclicality	Intervention instruments	Intervention programmes	Ending indicators	Key findings
Azlan et al. 2021 (17)	Students 56 = boys (57%; n = 32) and girls (43%; n = 24)	13.5 ± 0.5 years old	40 min	One sessions /week	2 weeks	A simple questionnaire of acceptance of playing TG and PE lesson activities was developed based on Wasowicz.and Zeng, Hipscher	Galah Panjang (Long Pole) and Baling Selipar (Throwing Slipper)	Enjoyment	The mean acceptance scores showed students preferred playing TG (19.29 ± 4.21; p < 0.00) over free-play PE lesson (17.59 ± 3.13).
Engels & Freund 2020 (33)	Students 143= boys (56.6%;n = 81) and girls (43.4%;n = 6)	12.50 ± 0.71 years old	15min	One sessions /week	7 weeks	Questionnaire for the Assessment of Enjoyment in Physical Education	The Magical Hoops、Mississippi、Chimney Sweep、Blanket Turnaround、Change of Places、Space in the Smallest Hut、Human Knot、7 People with 4 Feet、Siamese Soccer、Transportation on a Conveyor Belt、Save me if you can!	Enjoyment	cooperative games led to a higher perceived enjoyment in physical education classes (F(1) = 3.49, p = .063, ηp 2 = .012), increased the feeling of how strong students felt related to each other (F(1) = 4.38, p = .037, ηp 2 = .016)
Garcia-Castejon et al. 2021 (34)	Students 99 = boys (48.5%;n = 48) and girls (51.5%;n = 51)	12.63 ± 0.72 years old	50 min	two sessions /week	11 weeks	PNSE Basic Psychological Needs Questionnaire、 Sport Satisfaction Instrument SSI Questionnaire	basketball, futsal, and volleyball	Enjoyment	the hybridization between the TPSR and TGfU model is presented as an effective alternative to be applied in the educational context with the aim of improving young peoples’ intention to be physically active and psychological variables, such as motivation, responsibility, and enjoyment, in physical education classes
Jones et al. 2020 (28)	Students 202 = boys (49.0%;n = 99) and girls (51.0%;n = 103)	11–14 years old	No report	No report	6 weeks	Intrinsic Motivation Inventory (IMI)	an invasion games unit	Enjoyment	Two way (group x gender) ANCOVA adjusted for the baseline subscale identified: significant main effects for teaching approach for interest & enjoyment (F(1,197) = 241.74, p < 0.001, eta squared = .55)
Navarro-Paton et al. 2017 (29)	Students 104 = boys (56.7%;n = 59 ) and girls (43.3%,n = 5)	10.29 ± 0.62 years old	No report	two sessions /week	3 weeks	scale of multidimensional measure referring to enjoyment, competence, relationship, autonomy, demotivation, intrinsic and extrinsic motivation	playing cooperative games	Enjoyment	in the experimental group, the scores of the variables autonomous motivation (p = 0.000), SDI (p = 0.005), relationship (p = 0.004), autonomy (p = 0.017), PMI (p = 0.004), enjoyment (p = 0.001), personal responsibility (p = 0.015), social responsibility (p = 0.001) and IPA (p = 0.000) increased
Paton et al. 2018 (35)	Students 98 = boys (54.1%;n = 53) and girls (45.9%༛n = 45)	10.40 ± 0.50 years old	No report	two sessions /week	3 weeks	a multidimensional Scale was used according to enjoyment, competence, relation with others, autonomy, demotivation, intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation	competitive games	Enjoyment	the didactic unit based on the competitive games in the EF classes caused significant improvements in the different dimensions
Segura-Robles et al. 2020 (23)	Students 64 = boys(43.75%;n = 28)and girls༈56.25%༛n = 36༉	15 ± 1.62 years old	No report	No report	5 weeks	Basic Psychological Needs in Exercise Scale; Sport Motivation Scale;Sport Satisfaction Instrument;	a flipped and gamified program	Enjoyment	students’ satisfaction, enjoyment, and intrinsic motivation have improved based on the interaction with gamification and flipped learning
Batez et al. 2021 (27)	Students 54 = boys(66.7%;n = 36)and girls༈33.3%༛n = 18༉	15.62 ± 0.65 years old	45 min	two sessions /week	6 weeks	Sports Enjoyment Scale	mini-volleyball	Enjoyment	The EXP group showed significantly better results for enjoyment compared to the CON group (p ≤ 0.05)
Lopez-Lemus et al. 2023 (25)	Students 137 = boys(54.7%;n = 75)and girls༈45.3%༛n = 62༉	14.18 ± 0.83 years old	55 min	two sessions /week	12 weeks	Game Performance Assessment Instrument (GPAI);Enjoyment and Perceived Competence;Intention to Be Physically Active	handball via	Enjoyment	the application of hybrid models SE/TGfU could increase and help facilitate students’ game involvement and game performance, enjoyment, perceived competence and intention to be physically active
Fu et al. 2018 (31)	Students 65 = boys(52.30%;n = 34)and girls༈47.7%༛n = 31༉	4.9 ± 0.7 years old	30 min	five sessions /week	12 weeks	Gross Motor Development-Edition 3 (TGMD-3);Intrinsic Motivational Inventory	GoNoodle;Adventure to Fitness;Cosmic Kids Yoga	Enjoyment	There were also significant positive and weak correlations between enjoyment and the object control subtest and TGMD-3 total score (P < 0.05). Moderate-to-strong correlations were found among subtest scores and the total score of the TGMD-3
Kolovelonis & Goudas 2023 (18)	Students 102 = boys(54.9%;n = 56)and girls༈45.1%༛n = 46༉	10.13 ± 0.57 years old	45 min	No report	No report	The Design Fluency Test;Situational Interest Scale	hop-pop-tag;modified crazy traffic lights;the mirror; the maps	Enjoyment	participated in cognitively challenging physical activity games students compared to participated in activities for developing their health-related fitness students scored higher in total interest (p = 0.004, d = 0.71) and in instant enjoyment (p < 0.001, d = 0.89).
Gil-Arias et al. 2020 (24)	Students 292 = boys(52.1%;n = 152)and girls༈47.9%༛n = 140༉	10.41 ± 0.49 years old	50 min	two sessions /week	8 weeks	BPNs in exercise scale;Physical Activity Class Satisfaction Questionnaire	basketball	Enjoyment	regardless of students gender and/or content focus of the unit and have opportunities to increase their engagement, enjoyment, and social interactions within physical education lessons.
Fernandez-Rio et al. 2022 (26)	Students 54 = boys(51.9%;n = 28)and girls༈48.1%༛n = 26༉	14 ± 0.1 years old	90 min	a sessions /week	9 weeks	satisfaction and frustration scale	jump Ropes;Double Dutch rope jumping	satisfaction	showed signifi- cant mean increases in the experimental group in all the variables: intrinsic motivation (P = 0.001, d = 1.48), autonomy satisfaction (P = 0.001, d = 0.65), competence satisfaction (P = 0.003, d = 0.77), relatedness satisfaction (P = 0.010, d = 1.01), intention to be physically active (P = 0.001, d = 0.75) and only autonomy satisfaction (P = 0.027, d = 0.65) in the comparison group
Gao et al. 2013 (1)	Students 53 = boys(45.3%;n = 24)and girls༈54.7%༛n = 29༉	10.3 years old	30 min	No report	3 weeks	Enjoyment-Competence scale	Dance Dance Revolution	Enjoyment	Children spent more moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) time ( p < 0.01, h2 ¼ 0.49) in aerobic dance than DDR. Additionally, children reported significantly higher self-efficacy ( p < 0.001, h2 ¼ 0.28) and enjoyment ( p < 0.01, h2 ¼ 0.18) in DDR than in aerobic dance.
Quintas & Bustamante 2023 (32)	Students 417 = boys(46.8%;n = 195)and girls༈53.2%༛n = 222༉	11.1 ± 1.7 years old	45 min	three sessions /week	4 weeks	Sport Satisfaction Instrument	didactic dance(added a gamified climate in class and used an exergame)	Enjoyment	the gamified exergaming education intervention would produce more enjoyment in students than the non-gamified and non-exergaming intervention. An interaction effect was found on enjoyment (F(1) = 7.56, p = .006, h2 p = .02)
Zetou et al. 2012 (30)	Students 62 = boys(48.4%;n = 30)and girls༈51.6%༛n = 32༉	11.13 ± .33 years old	20 min	nine sessions /week	4 weeks	Evaluation of satisfaction(a six-item scale)	Play and Stay program(tennis)	Satisfaction	students will be motivated to become more involved in tennis as a sport, since enjoyment and satisfaction stimulate interest in participation
Note: TG = traditional games; PE = physical education; PNSE = Psychological Needs in Exercise Scale;
TGfU = Teaching Games for Understanding; ANCOVA = analysis of covariance; EF = Physical Education;

EXP = experimental; CON = control; SE/TGfU = Sport Education /Teaching for understanding; TGMD-3 = Test for Gross Motor Development-Edition 3; MVPA = moderate to vigorous physical activity; BPNs = basic psychological needs; DDR = Dance Dance Revolution.

Sample size characterisation figures for tables are processed through a uniform format.

All figures in the table (age) column are means ± standard deviation

The analysis encompasses 16 articles, which collectively examines 17 studies. The total sample size has 2,181 participants, with 1,139 individuals assigned to the experimental group and 1,042 individuals assigned to the control group. There were 1,096 male participants and 1,048 female ones. The age of the samples ranges from 4.9 to 15.62 years. The intervention duration covers from 15 to 90 minutes, with frequencies from 1 to 9 times each week. The intervention cycles span from 2 to 14 weeks. The interventions are concentrated on sports and games programs. The assessed outcome indicators include enjoyment and satisfaction, intervention instruments and major findings.See Table 2 for detailed information.

3.3 Quality assessment

This research examines the literature about the random assignment process and specifically focuses on six studies that meet the inclusion criteria (18, 26, 27, 30, 31, 33). The remaining research do not provide details about the randomization process. None of the 17 studies mention whether the allocation is concealed or not in the allocation scheme concealment. In terms of blinding, researchers on the subjects and inform them about the tests. Thus, the subjects are not blinded. Consequently, all 17 studies are deemed to have a high risk. The evaluation of the findings is featured with uncertainty. Two studies had a high incidence of staff turnover as for the completeness of the outcome data (18, 32). None of the 15 studies shows any subject or data loss, and all of them are considered to have low risk. The included studies show no further selective reporting or biases, and all of them are considered to have low risk of bias.

3.4 Tests for bias

This research includes outcome indicators for analysis, and the funnel plot demonstrates a distribution that is symmetrical, indicating the absence of publication bias, as seen in the Fig. 3.

3.5 Efficacy tests

3.5.1 The relationship between teaching games in physical education and enjoyment of children and adolescents

Heterogeneity tests were performed on the articles that were included in the analysis. Out of the total, 17 research (comprising 16 papers) indicated an altered association between the enjoyment experienced by children and adolescents in the context of teaching physical education games (1, 17, 18, 23–35). The researchers apply a random effects model to collect the findings about the articles’ outcome indicators. This study includes 17 studies and 2,181 participants in total, with 1,042 in the control group and 1,139 in the experimental group. The present research provides evidence supporting the favorable impact of a physical education intervention using games on the positive emotions of children and adolescents in the experimental group (MD = 0.53, 95% CI: [0.27, 0.79], P < 0.05), as depicted in Fig. 4.

3.5.2 Subgroup analyses

The combined impact size data for physical play teaching interventions on children and adolescents show a significant degree of variation. It is achieved by analyzing subgroups based on gender, age, duration, frequency, and cycling as potential influencing factors.

The results of subgroup analyses examining the influence of gender, age, duration, frequency, and cycling on the effects of games in physical education indicate that such games can enhance enjoyment of boys (MD = 0.31, 95% CI:[0.13,0.50], P < 0.05) and positively affect girls (MD = 0.28, 95%CI:[0.05,0.51], P < 0.05). Furthermore, it is observed that children aged 12 experienced an increasing enjoyment (MD = 0.41, 95% CI:[0.17,0.64], P < 0.05), whereas adolescents aged 12 and above do not show a similar increase (P > 0.05). The duration of physical education sessions ranging from 30 to 60 minutes (MD = 0.40,95%CI:[0.19,0.60], P < 0.05) can provide a favorable impact on enjoyment experienced by children and adolescents. Moreover, extending the duration of physical education beyond 60 minutes (MD = 0.55,95%CI:[0.10,1.00], P < 0.05) may also improve their enjoyment. However, noticeably, durations shorter than 30 minutes do not show the same good effect (P > 0.05). It is more feasible to provide physical game teaching within a frequency range of 1 to 3 sessions per week (MD = 0.28,95%CI:[0.16,0.40], P < 0.05) to elicit enjoyment among children and adolescents. Conversely, it is unsuitable to give physical game instructions, exceeding the threshold of 3 sessions per week (P > 0.05).The optimal duration for physical game teaching to elicit enjoyable outcomes in children and adolescents is between 3 to 6 weeks (MD = 0.81, 95%CI:[0.29,1.34],P < 0.05), but durations beyond 6 weeks are also considered acceptable (MD = 0.29, 95%CI:[0.10,0.48],P < 0.05). In contrast, it is not a proper option to be engaged in physical games for less than 3 weeks (P > 0.05). Hence, such factors as gender, age, duration, frequency, and cycle contribute significantly to the observed variation in satisfaction, as seen in Fig. 5–9.

4.1 Main research analyses

Data were collected from 17 researches included in this study, and it is found The findings indicate that interventions using physical education game teaching have an advantageous effect on enjoyment encountered by children and adolescents.Relevant research has concluded that teaching athletic activities encourages youngsters and teenagers to strengthen their cognitive abilities (38, 39),motivation and social components of learning while participating in the games (40, 41).More importantly, games may help adolescents and children control their emotions (42). The enjoyment gained from physical exercise is the most powerful incentive for them to take part in school activities (43, 44). The research examined it from a physiological standpoint. Physical exercise has been found to boost the production of endorphins, which have mood-enhancing properties (45). Gitimoghaddam et al. (46) claim that as for ADHD, high-intensive exercises or physical activities can make endorphin release increase, which has a moderating influence on mood, pleasure, and pain. Endorphins produce during physical exercise. Azevedo Da Silva et al. (47) report it works on the central nervous system, provides a sense of calm in people and enhances mood. Furthermore, several sports and games initiatives increase enjoyment in children and adolescents. For example, Batez et al. (27) discover that children and adolescents in a mini-volleyball experimental group allocated to the Teaching Games for Understanding model feel more pleasant than in a control group with a physical game teaching intervention. Lopez-Lemus et al. (25) adopt a pre-/post-test quasi-test strategy to categorize participants into experimental and control groups and they discover that 67 individuals in the pre-/post-test quasi-test design tend to be happier than in the control group. 67 students in the Teaching for Understanding (TGfU) /Sport Education (SE) experimental group (handball) demonstrate improvements in game performance, pleasure, perceptual ability, and intention. A. E.Staiano et al. (48) conduct a random controlled experiment and find that sports activities are enjoyable for young girls after assigning 41 overweight females aged 14 to 18 to groups for dance movement games. Basketball, like other sports, increases students’ enjoyment (24). Hence, this research posits that including games into physical education courses may effectively enhance the enjoyment of children and adolescents, making it a recommended approach compared to programmes that do not use games.

4.2 Gender Analysis

This study concludes that teaching physical education activities promotes joy more in boys than in girls and that males are more likely than girls to experience positive emotions.

Additionally, the study indicates that male students are more likely to have enjoyment compared with their female counterparts. Several studies have demonstrated that as boys and girls age, they exhibit divergent gratifications. Research suggests that girls in early infancy have a higher propensity for positive feelings than boys when engaged in physical activities. Joseph et al. (49) investigate Social Cognitive Theory’s cultural applicability in a physical activity intervention developed for African American females. They find that most female participants have enjoyable childhood memories associated with participation in diverse kinds of physical exercises. Bigman et al. (50)study, which involves 711 participants with initially low levels of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), shows that girls in young adulthood do not show a greater sense of enjoyment than boys. They further find that, for older adolescents, girls tend to gain less pleasure from physical activities than boys, and girls hold negative attitudes towards physical activities. Their findings highlight the correlation between family conflict and cohesion and levels of MVPA among adolescents. However, variations in gender performance may take place in other categories of games (51). It shows that compared with boys, girls have a greater preference for participating in interactive dancing games (52). Girls usually get pleasure from physical activities such as dance, yoga, and tai chi accompanied by music. These particular exercises give them chances to gain enjoyment from physical activities (53) and make them more cooperative (54). According to R. Buys et al. (54), boys prefer to join in competitive fitness games. However, the influence of age and specific type of games should be considered, because they can lead to variations in pleasure performance between boys and girls. These results indicate that gender is not the only determinant for pleasure and highlight the need for exploring other contributing factors.

4.3 Analysis of age

This research posits that physical game teaching improves enjoyment among children aged below 12, but it fails to produce similar effects for individuals aged 12 and above. The same outcomes are likewise shown and examined with respect to children.According to Velez & Garcia Garcia (55), it is suggested that children aged between 9 and 12 show superior cognitive aspects of emotional well-being compared with adolescents aged 13 to 17. Additionally, Pesce et al. (56) assert that playfulness serves as a positive factor influencing children’s motor skills, which are inherently associated with enjoyment and serve as a motivating factor for their engagement in physical activities. Roselien Buys et al. (57) find that children’s involvement in physical activities is influenced significantly by the presence of pleasure as a key element. Bremer et al. (58) examine the physical activity engagement of children of school age (aged 6 to 13), who are diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders(ASD). They mainly investigate the social-environmental elements that influence the engagement in physical activities among these kids. Their study shows autistic children may show increasing motivation to be engaged in various physical activities, if they have positive experiences in physical education classes. Chubbs-Payne et al. (59) propose that children with congenital heart disease should take part in diverse age-appropriate physical exercises, which puts emphasis on enjoyment and recreation. Analysed in terms of adolescents, academic rivalry within educational settings possibly causes stress in teenagers, which increases their susceptibility to depression and anxiety disorders. Lupien et al. (60) finds a substance that can impede the generation of positive feelings. Furthermore, at the age of 15, teenagers engaged in a significant amount of physical activities may not undergo the anticipated quick decrease in depression symptoms as they grow up. McPhie & Rawana (61) and Mangerud et al. (62) investigate the prevalence and nature of physical activities among adolescents with psychosis. They find that 40% of the adolescents with anxiety disorders reports a negative influence of their limited physical activities on their overall positive mood, including their engagement in recreational activities. consequently, the pedagogical approach of instructing physical education games seems to be a more effective intervention in eliciting enjoyment among children aged below 12 years, as compared to teenagers aged 12 years and above.

4.4 Analysis of duration

This research suggests that a physical education game teaching intervention lasting 30 minutes or more has a beneficial impact on the enjoyment of children and adolescents, however less than 30 minutes has no effect. Bull et al. (63) finds that engagement in physical activities, primarily aerobic in nature and with moderate and vigorous intensity for one hour a day per week can potentially confer health benefits upon children and adolescents. Liu et al.(64) find that engagement in physical activities can induce the release of neurotransmitters, specifically dopamine and (-)-norepinephrine. Additionally, physical activities promote an enhanced functional interaction between the orbitofrontal cortex and the amygdala. This improved connection is associated with heightened executive functioning, making symptoms of depression and anxiety alleviate. Consequently, individuals experience an elevated sense of euphoria and accomplishment, which ultimately facilitates increasing happiness. Motaghinejad et al. (65) find that dopamine levels exhibit a progressive rise with the duration of exercises. According to Lott et al. (66) and (67), children generally prefer to participate in brief periods of intense physical activities, followed by a short break, which echoes the concept of nature play. In contrast, adults prefer longer and more organized exercise regimens. In the research by Tobin et al. (68), the time for video game play is reviewed by prospective and retrospective estimation. Their study has 116 participants and identifies three specific time intervals of 12, 35, and 58 minutes. They find that a 12-minute duration is considered as a period for warming up, because it is insufficient for players to become entirely engaged in the activity. Taylor et al. (69) assess the level of physical activities among 441 kids from sixteen elementary schools in Dunedin, New Zealand. They adopt accelerometers to measure physical activities during five playtime periods and three full school days. They find that children engaged in organized sports for 20 minutes show lower motivation levels. Additionally, physical games less than 30 minutes do not enhance pleasurable mood. It can be concluded that engaging in physical activities for at least 30 minutes yields improved outcomes in terms of positive emotional states among children and adolescents.

4.5 Analysis of frequency

According to the findings of this research, a physical game teaching intervention is acceptable for children and adolescents to create enjoyment in 1 to 3 sessions per week, but more than 3 sessions per week is not. Li et al. (70) assert a positive relationship between positive emotions and beneficial behaviors, such as frequent engagement in physical activities. Other researches reveal that the frequency of physical exercises is linked to the promotion of pleasurable emotions. For instance, Batez et al. (27) evaluate the influence of the model “teaching games for understanding” (TGfU) on cultivating volleyball techniques and pleasure among middle school students against a physical education background. The experimental group, which has the least volleyball lessons twice a week, shows an obvious rise in enjoyment compared with the control group. The research examines the impact of incorporating mixed units of Sport Education and TGfU, and direct instruction units on the motivational results of primary school students during their participation in an intensive games unit. It reveals that the pleasure experienced by both boys and girls increases after implementing two mixed units each week. However, when the exercise frequency is excessive, insufficient time for rest and recovery in children and adolescents may make lactic acid accumulate in the muscles and cause physical exhaustion (71, 72). There is a detrimental impact on the individual’s continuous engagement in physical exercises (73). Judging from several relevant studies, physical fatigue, which affects personal mood, decreases adolescent’s sensation of delightful activities and diminishes their enjoyment of the experience (74–76). Certainly, occasional breaks in physical education games may effectively facilitate physical recovery and serve as a superior approach to achieve this objective (77). Hence, it is suitable to prioritize the cultivation of pleasure among children and adolescents by including physical games in their curriculum, with a recommended frequency of one to three sessions per week.

4.6 Analysis of cycles

This research provides evidence to support the claim that instructing games in physical education for 3 to 6 weeks or beyond 6 weeks, is an optimal approach to foster satisfying outcomes among children and adolescents. In contrast, the findings suggest that teaching games in physical education for a period of less than 3 weeks is not advisable. Numerous pertinent research show that children and adolescents might tend to participate actively in physical exercises as a result of the psychological requirements associated with intrinsic motivation, namely autonomy, competence, and relevance, which can be fulfilled within the physical education setting. Chen et al. (78) and Zetou et al. (30) report that a four-week instructional program emphasizing the principles of ‘play and persevere’ in the context of tennis education might provide a pleasurable experience for students along the learning process. Jones et al. (28) investigate the influence of a TGfU approach on the intrinsic motivation of students who are 11 to 14 year olds and learning sport. The experimental group is exposed to this approach, while a traditional skills-based approach is applied to the control group. It finds that children in the experimental group have enhanced enjoyment of sport following a 6-week intervention. Fernandez-Rio et al. (26) evaluate the influences of a curriculum based on game on enjoyment experienced by a group of 27 students over 9 weeks. The experimental group demonstrates an increase in autonomy satisfaction over a 9-week post-intervention, which conforms to previous findings. The same outcome is seen in the study by Taylor et al. (79). Nevertheless, it is suggested that brief sport and physical education treatments for just one week may not accurately assess intrinsic motivation among the participants (80, 81). There are challenges associated with motivating children and adolescents to participate in activities that generate enjoyment effectively. In contrast, the teaching physical education (PE) activities with prolonged session, repetitive and boring materials possibly diminishes intrinsic motivation, increases weariness, induces boredom, and even affect children’s psychological health (82–84). Fu et al. (31) contend that interventions during sports games may initially enhance pleasure, which supports this idea. However, when the period exceeds 12 weeks, these interventions possibly become less pleasant as their interest diminishes. According to Zeng et al. (85), as youngsters participate in repetitive gameplays, their interest in the extrinsic aspects of the game wanes, causing a gradual decline in their overall enjoyment of the activity. In summary, a minimal period of three weeks is recommended for children and adolescents’ participation in games, which emphasize diversity and substance of the game program, in order to enhance their positive emotional experiences.

This study applies a meta-analysis to examine the significance of teaching games in physical education regarding emotional delight experienced by children and adolescents. Gender, age, duration, frequency and cycles may be the reasons for variances impacting the research outcomes. This research finds that male participants are more likely to show enjoyable behavior compared with their female counterparts as for games teaching in physical courses. However, it should be noted that gender disparities may be influenced by variables like age and the specific kind of sports taught in class. Besides,Children engage in a minimum of 30 minutes every session, attending 1 to 3 sessions per week, so guaranteeing that the physical education and games curriculum is delivered for a span exceeding 3 weeks. This approach aims to foster positive affective experiences among children, thereby facilitating the attainment of optimum outcomes.

Apart from the meaningful findings, this research also has some drawbacks. Firstly, it adopts a meta-analytical approach to examine the influence of games teaching in physical education on enjoyment in children and adolescent. It primarily focuses on the outcomes of curriculum and teaching implementation. Consequently, the results may not be applicable to other contexts, such as after-school physical game activities, community physical game activities, and family physical game activities. Furthermore, the 17 studies analyzed in this research have insufficient data on duration, frequency, and period. This insufficient information may influence the statistical accuracy of conducting effect size tests. Additionally, the 17 studies fail to offer any data about the intensity of the activities employed in games teaching in physical education, such as heart rate, oxygen uptake, and respiratory rate. Consequently, future studies can address this gap in knowledge. Additionally, the current research does not ascertain the ideal upper threshold for the duration of engagement in the activity. This aspect warrants further exploration in a later literature review. Additionally, it is crucial to evaluate other variables which may influence the research outcomes, such as the specific nature of the sports game being analyzed. For further study, it would be fruitful to classify different sorts of sports games to improve the whole quality of the research.

Ethics approval and consent to participate.

Not applicable

Consent for publication

Not applicable

Availability of data and materials

All data generated or analysed during this study are included in this published article

Competing interests

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Funding

This study was not funded by any organization or institution.

Authors' contributions

MWL performed the experiment, LYM and LJQ performed the data analysis, HYW performs a final check of the data, MWL performed the formal analysis and wrote the manuscript, JBS helped perform the analysis with constructive discussions, All authors were involved in discussing the results.

Acknowledgements

We would like to express our deep appreciation to Professor Jamalsafri Bin Saibon from the School of Educational Studies, Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), for providing advices and support for this project.

Author details

¹ School of Educational Studies, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang,11800, Malaysia Postgraduate Department,

² Zhaoqing College, Zhaoqing, 526061, China,³ Dinghu First Experimental School, Zhaoqing, 526070, China,

⁴ Huaqiao Junior High School, Zhaoqing, 526108, China

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No competing interests reported.

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Effects of Game-based Physical Education Program on Enjoyment in Children and Adolescents : A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

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Abstract

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1. Introduction

2. Methods

2.1 Search strategy and standards for selection

2.2 Criteria for inclusion and exclusion

2.3 Screening process

2.4 Extraction of data and quality evaluation

2.5 Statistical analysis

3. Results

3.1 Search results

3.2 Basic features of the included articles

3.3 Quality assessment

3.4 Tests for bias

3.5 Efficacy tests

3.5.1 The relationship between teaching games in physical education and enjoyment of children and adolescents

3.5.2 Subgroup analyses

4. Discussion

4.1 Main research analyses

4.2 Gender Analysis

4.3 Analysis of age

4.4 Analysis of duration

4.5 Analysis of frequency

4.6 Analysis of cycles

5. Conclusion

6. Limitations and future research

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References

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