The effectiveness of online physical education courses: Systematic review and meta-analysis study

The global COVID-19 pandemic, along with unexpected crises such as natural disasters, has necessitated the integration of digitalization and distance learning into educational processes. In this context, pedagogical approaches such as e-learning, digital education, and blended learning have become critical for the sustainability of education systems. This study focuses specifically on Online Physical Education (OLPE) courses and aims to evaluate their effectiveness by systematically reviewing 43 empirical studies published between 2020 and 2024 in the Web of Science database. The findings reveal a noticeable increase in the number of publications, particularly following the pandemic, with the majority of studies being multiauthored and published in high-impact journals. The reviewed research explores the effects of OLPE on student motivation, physical fitness, teaching methods, and psychological well-being from various perspectives. The predominance of quantitative research methods indicates that OLPE practices have positive impacts on psychological variables such as self-determination, intrinsic motivation, and teacher connectedness, as well as improvements in certain physical parameters such as muscle strength and flexibility. However, limitations were observed in endurance-related domains that require higher capacity. Platforms such as YouTube and Google Meet were found to be effective in both synchronous and asynchronous teaching formats. Meta-analysis results demonstrate that OLPE courses have a moderate and statistically significant positive effect on students' vital capacity (d = 0.403, p = .002). On the other hand, OLPE courses did not yield significant effects on students' 50-meter sprint performance (d = -0.055, p = .594) or body mass index (d = 0.013, p = .886). These results highlight both the potential and limitations of OLPE and suggest the need for further experimental research to enhance the effectiveness of its implementation