Effective implementation of the Sport Education Model in physical education: A meta-analysis of participant and intervention characteristics

PLOS One | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0331228 October 16, 2025 10 / 17 university (Effect size = 0.174; P = 0.042) students. These results suggest that SEM has a large positive effect on physical education learning among secondary students, with a stronger effect compared to elementary and university students. Effects of the Sport Education Model on student PE learning with different experiences. In the statistical analysis of whether students had SEM experience, only one study reported students with experience. However, meta- analysis was conducted when at least three studies provided sufficient data to calculate the effect size (ES). Additionally, eight studies did not mention whether students had participated in SEM courses, and due to the inability to determine this, these studies were excluded from this part of the analysis. Therefore, we only analyzed students without SEM experience. The data in Table 5 show that SEM had a significant positive effect on the physical education learning of students with no SEM experience (Effect size = 0.604; P = 0.011). This effect size was higher than the overall effect (Effect size = 0.590; P < 0.001). Effects of the Sport Education Model on student PE learning with different class sizes. This section of the study categorized the class sizes in the included studies into small, medium, and large. The data in Table 5 show that SEM did not achieve statistical significance for physical education learning among students in large class sizes (P = 0.837),

and therefore, SEM cannot be shown to have a significant impact on students in this class format. However, SEM demonstrated a significant moderate positive effect on students in medium class sizes (Effect size = 0.791; P = 0.010) and a significant large positive effect on students in small class sizes (Effect size = 1.058; P = 0.005). These results suggest that SEM has the greatest positive impact on the physical education learning of students in small class sizes. Effects of the Sport Education Model on student PE learning with different intervention frequency. This section of the study categorized the intervention frequency in the included studies into ≤1 lesson/week, 2 lessons/week, and >2 lessons/week. The data in Table 5 show that SEM did not achieve statistical significance for students with >2 lessons/ week intervention (P = 0.979), and therefore, SEM cannot be shown to have a significant impact on students with this intervention frequency. However, SEM with an intervention frequency of ≤1 lesson/week demonstrated a significant small positive effect on students’ physical education learning (Effect size = 0.484; P = 0.009), while SEM with an intervention frequency of 2 lessons/week showed a significant large positive effect (Effect size = 1.820; P = 0.008). These results suggest that SEM with an intervention frequency of 2 lessons/week has the greatest positive impact on student’s physical education learning. Table 5. Effects of the Sport Education Model on student PE learning with different moderating variables.

Coding object Effect size Standard error 95% CI Two-tailed test Lower limit Upper limit Z p Stages elementary −0.118 0.141 −0.394 0.159 −0.835 0.404 secondary 1.055 0.359 0.361 1.759 2.938 0.003** university 0.174 0.086 0.006 0.342 2.034 0.042* Experience No experience 0.604 0.239 0.136 1.072 2.528 0.011* Class sizes small 1.058 0.379 0.314 1.802 2.788 0.005** medium 0.791 0.306 0.192 1.390 2.586 0.010* large −0.018 0.086 −0.186 0.150 −0.206 0.837 Frequency ≤1 lessons/week 0.484 0.185 0.021 0.847 2.613 0.009** 2 lessons/week 1.820 0.681 0.486 3.154 2.673 0.008** >2 lessons/week 0.003 0.131 −0.254 0.261 0.027 0.979 Duration 30–60 min/session 0.295 0.116 0.068 0.522 2.551 0.011* ≥60 min/session 1.002 0.289 0.437 1.568 3.474 0.001** Period <18 session 0.654 0.182 0.297 1.010 3.591 0.001** ≥18 session 0.305 0.227 −0.141 0.750 1.342 0.180 https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0331228.t005