The rapid integration of technology into educational systems is fundamentally reshaping physical education (PE) instruction, demanding a significant shift in pedagogical approaches and teacher adaptability. A recent comprehensive study examining 409 physical education teachers across multiple Chinese provinces has shed light on the critical factors influencing their successful adaptation to dynamic digital teaching environments. The research, grounded in Social Cognitive Theory, underscores the pivotal role of school support and delves into the intricate psychological mechanisms that mediate this adaptation, including teachers’ self-efficacy, digital teaching beliefs, and digital teaching intention. The Evolving Landscape of Physical Education The landscape of school-based physical education is undergoing a profound transformation, driven by the pervasive digitalization of education. This systemic reconstruction impacts everything from organizational structures and learning environments to pedagogical models. As digital technologies become increasingly embedded in everyday PE practices, teachers are challenged to continuously refine their instructional strategies, master diverse digital tools, and creatively integrate technology into their teaching. Innovations such as intelligent equipment-assisted instruction, blended virtual-physical activity scenarios, digital performance assessment systems, and AI-based risk detection are becoming more common, highlighting the urgent need for PE teachers to develop strong digital teaching competencies. This adaptation is not merely about technical proficiency; it’s about fostering students’ digital physical literacy and modernizing the entire discipline of school physical education. However, this digital transition presents significant hurdles for PE teachers. These include potential deficiencies in health data analysis skills, a notable gap in digital teaching beliefs and competence, and even psychological resistance to digitalization. These obstacles can impede the pace and effectiveness of teachers’ digital transformation, emphasizing the necessity for robust support systems to facilitate their adaptation. School Support as a Catalyst for Digital Adaptation The study’s findings strongly indicate that school support is a critical external force propelling PE teachers’ digital teaching adaptation. The research revealed a significant and positive direct correlation between the level of school support and teachers’ ability to adapt to digital teaching environments. This aligns with established educational research, which consistently identifies school support as a vital factor in teachers’ adoption of new technologies and their successful integration into pedagogical practices. School support, conceptualized in this study as a multi-dimensional service mechanism, encompasses crucial elements such as technology infrastructure, administrative assistance, professional development opportunities, and collaborative frameworks. It also includes personnel support, curriculum support, institutional arrangements, and a supportive environmental culture. When schools provide adequate technical resources, necessary training, and foster a positive environment for digital instruction, teachers are more likely to embrace and effectively utilize digital tools. This echoes findings from previous studies, such as meta-analyses highlighting the significant predictive power of infrastructure and training resources on teachers’ technology adoption behaviors. The Mediating Roles of Psychological Factors Beyond the direct impact of school support, the study meticulously investigated the mediating roles of teachers’ psychological attributes. The research identified self-efficacy as a key partial mediator. This means that while school support directly influences teachers’ digital teaching adaptation, a portion of this influence is channeled through their growing confidence in their abilities. Teachers who receive strong school support tend to feel more capable of navigating digital teaching challenges, which in turn boosts their confidence and facilitates their adaptation. This finding is consistent with Social Cognitive Theory, which posits that individual behavior is influenced by a reciprocal interaction between environmental factors and personal cognitive factors. Furthermore, the study uncovered complex serial mediation pathways, demonstrating that the influence of school support is not a simple, linear process. It was found that self-efficacy, digital teaching beliefs, and digital teaching intention, when acting in sequence, create a powerful chain of influence linking school support to digital teaching adaptation. Specifically, the research highlighted that school support significantly predicts teachers’ self-efficacy. This heightened self-efficacy, in turn, influences their digital teaching beliefs and, crucially, their digital teaching intention – their proactive willingness to learn, apply, and integrate digital tools. This chain of influence suggests a progressive internalization process: school support builds teachers’ confidence (self-efficacy), which then shapes their perception of the value and feasibility of digital teaching (beliefs), and ultimately leads to a stronger commitment to adopt these practices (intention). One significant finding was that while school support directly influences teachers’ self-efficacy and digital teaching beliefs, its direct link to digital teaching intention was not statistically significant. This suggests that external support alone may not automatically translate into an intention to teach digitally. Instead, this intention is more likely to be fostered through the development of internal psychological factors, particularly self-efficacy. The study’s analysis revealed that school support indirectly impacts digital teaching intention through self-efficacy, indicating that teachers’ confidence in their abilities is a crucial precursor to their willingness to engage in digital teaching. The research also explored the sequential mediation through self-efficacy, digital teaching beliefs, and digital teaching intention. The findings indicated that school support positively impacts self-efficacy, which then influences digital teaching beliefs. These beliefs, in turn, shape digital teaching intention, ultimately leading to enhanced digital teaching adaptation. This intricate pathway underscores the interconnectedness of cognitive and motivational factors in the digital transformation of teaching. Implications for Educational Policy and Practice The study’s findings offer significant practical implications for educational institutions and policymakers aiming to foster digital teaching adaptation among PE teachers. Prioritize Comprehensive School Support: Educational leaders must recognize that robust and multi-faceted school support is fundamental. This includes not only providing up-to-date technological infrastructure and resources but also investing in ongoing, high-quality professional development programs tailored to the specific needs of PE teachers. Creating a supportive school culture that encourages experimentation and innovation with digital tools is equally crucial. Cultivate Teacher Self-Efficacy: Given the partial mediation of self-efficacy, schools should focus on empowerment strategies. This involves providing opportunities for teachers to experience success with digital tools, offering mentorship, and fostering a growth mindset. When teachers believe in their capacity to learn and effectively use digital technologies, they are more likely to embrace them. Nurture Digital Teaching Beliefs and Intentions: While direct interventions on beliefs and intentions might be less effective in isolation, fostering them through enhanced self-efficacy and supportive environments is key. Schools can achieve this by showcasing successful digital teaching practices, facilitating peer learning, and demonstrating the tangible benefits of digital integration for both teaching and student learning. Adopt a Systemic Approach: The identified serial mediation pathways highlight that promoting digital teaching adaptation requires a holistic strategy. Interventions should aim to synergize school support with the development of teachers’ internal psychological resources, recognizing that the journey from external support to behavioral change is a complex, multi-stage process. Limitations and Future Directions While this study provides valuable insights, its cross-sectional design limits the ability to establish definitive causal relationships. Future research employing longitudinal designs would offer a clearer understanding of the dynamic interplay between school support, psychological factors, and digital teaching adaptation over time. The study operationalized school support as a single higher-order construct. Future research could benefit from differentiating its specific components – such as technical support, infrastructure, curriculum support, and school climate – to examine their unique impacts on teachers’ digital teaching adaptation. Furthermore, while steps were taken to mitigate common method variance, the reliance on self-reported data warrants caution. Future studies could enhance robustness by incorporating multi-source data collection (e.g., student or administrator feedback) and employing longitudinal multi-wave measurement designs. Finally, the study was conducted within a single cultural context. Cross-cultural comparisons would be beneficial to determine the universality of the identified mechanisms and broaden the global applicability of the findings. In conclusion, this research provides compelling evidence that a supportive school environment, coupled with the cultivation of teachers’ self-efficacy, digital teaching beliefs, and digital teaching intention, is essential for the successful digital transformation of physical education. By understanding these intricate relationships, educational institutions can develop more targeted and effective strategies to empower PE teachers in the digital age. Post navigation Understanding interoception across emotional contexts: development and validation of the Emotion-Linked Interoceptive Awareness Scale
