ABSTRACT
This study investigatesboth the impact of participation in the National Fitness 100 project, a National Sports Promotion Act of Korea policy, and plans for implementing operational efficiencies. It highlights the significance of the project and provides information to help people at home and abroad live healthy lives by improving their fitness. The research participants were three exercise therapists and one physical-fitness tester,selected from regional physical-fitness centers in four South Korean cities (C, D, J, N), as well as four people who have participated in National Fitness 100 every year since 2017. In-depth interview data were collected and analyzed in depth through an inductive category analysis. The first impact of participation in National Fitness 100 was participant satisfaction with sports programs accessed through free fitness tests and personalized exercise prescriptions;these were recognized as a state-supported sports-welfare service. Second, the state-approved fitness certificate issued for eachfitness-certification stage gave participants pride and a sense of challenge, motivating them to continue to engage withNational Fitness 100. To ensure thatNational Fitness 100 operates efficiently, it is essential, first, to develop certificates that evaluate and recognize the individual goals achieved by participants. Second, the recently introduced Sports Activity Certification service should improve participation through active promotion and compensation systems, based on records of sports-activity performance. Third, health, nutrition, hygiene, and fitness must be integrated through governance activation to enable collaboration and improvement among disadvantaged groups and regions. Finally, it is expected that this study will provide information and practice to improve health and fitness, which havebeen impeded by the spread of COVID-19 worldwide.
ABSTRACT
This study examined the difficulties of running online physical education classes in the context of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and used the findings to develop an efficient operation plan to address these difficulties. Six middle and high school physical education teachers participated;three were experts in online physical education and active in the Korea Council School Physical Education Promotion, and three were recommended teachers making efforts to improve the online classes offered by the Korea Ministry of Education. A qualitative case study method employing phenomenological procedures to collect and analyze the data was used. The difficulties of operating middle and high school online physical education classes for the first time included (1) the monotony of the classes within their limited environmental conditions and limited educational content that did not adequately convey the value of physical education, (2) trial-and-error methods applied nationwide, resulting from a lack of expertise in operating online physical education classes, and (3) very limited evaluation guidelines proposed by the Korea Ministry of Education, which made systematic evaluation with online methods impossible. To address the identified problems and facilitate the efficient operation of online physical education classes, changes in strategic learning methods are needed to understand online physical education characteristics and thereby better communicate the value of physical education. It is also necessary to cultivate teaching expertise through sharing online physical education classes, where collaboration among physical education teachers is central. In addition, evaluation processes should be less formal to encourage active student participation.
ABSTRACT
This study aimed to develop a physical education fitness program for adolescents to counteract the declining physical activity levels caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as to investigate the program's effect. This mixed-methods study developed and implemented a five-component "Music Beeps" (MB) program to promote adolescents' physical fitness. A total of 240 students from two high schools in South Korea-divided into experimental and control groups-participated in 32 sessions over 16 weeks. The changes in students' fitness were analyzed, and the educational effects were examined via inductive analysis of the observation logs and group and in-depth interviews. The results demonstrated that, whereas the comparison group demonstrated no statistically significant changes in power, muscular strength and endurance, or cardiopulmonary endurance, the experimental group showed changes in all these variables, along with changes in flexibility. Further, the MB program had significant educational effects. First, students reported that musical cues enhanced their fitness motivation and sense of responsibility. Second, record-keeping and active participation contributed to self-led fitness management. Third, activity in a small space with few pieces of equipment led to the positive perception that the program was efficient and enabled regular exercise regardless of climate conditions.