Effects of the Sport Monopoly Game on physical fitness, social interaction, and enjoyment in elementary physical education

Abstract

Background and Study Aim. Physical education contributes to students’ physical fitness as well as to their social and affective development. Despite the use of various instructional approaches, school-based physical education often relies on conventional and performance-oriented practices that provide limited opportunities for meaningful interaction, enjoyment, and holistic assessment. Therefore, the aim of the study was to assess the effects of a low-technology game-based learning model based on the Sport Monopoly Game (SMG) on physical fitness, social interaction, and physical activity enjoyment in elementary school students. Materials and Methods. A cluster-allocated quasi-experimental pretest-posttest study was conducted with 120 elementary school students aged 10–12 years from four public schools in Cimahi City, Indonesia. Two schools were allocated to the SMG condition, and two to traditional physical education. The intervention lasted eight weeks (16 sessions). Physical fitness was assessed using the Indonesian Student Fitness Test (TKSI). Social interaction was assessed using the Physical Education Social Skills Assessment Scale (PESSAS). Enjoyment was assessed using a modified Physical Activity Enjoyment Scale (PACES). Primary analyses were conducted using linear mixed-effects models. These models examined group differences in pretest-posttest change while accounting for repeated observations and school-level clustering. An exploratory indirect-effect analysis was also conducted. Results. Complete-case analyses included 114 students. The SMG condition showed more favorable pretest-posttest change than the control condition in physical fitness, social interaction, and enjoyment. All three primary effects remained significant after Holm adjustment. School-level summaries showed the same directional pattern across both SMG schools. Exploratory indirect-effect findings were consistent with a possible role for enjoyment but did not support causal mediation inference. Conclusions. SMG may represent a feasible and pedagogically meaningful model for elementary physical education. Compared with traditional instruction, it was associated with more favorable changes in physical fitness, social interaction, and enjoyment. However, these findings should be interpreted cautiously because the study used a clustered, school-based quasi-experimental design.