ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Educ.
Sec. Assessment, Testing and Applied Measurement
Volume 10 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/feduc.2025.1635857
Key Elements and Enhancement Strategies for After-School Sports Services in Primary and Secondary Schools: A Grounded Theory Approach
Provisionally accepted
Dan Yang*
Chuansheng Men- Suqian College, Suqian, China
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Abstract:Background: After-school sports services play a crucial role in supporting the physical and mental well-being of primary and secondary school students, particularly under China's recent educational reforms.Purpose: This study investigates the core factors influencing the effectiveness of after-school sports services and offers practical enhancement strategies.Methods: Grounded theory was employed as the primary research method. Data were collected from 25 physical education teachers and 10 parents across six major Chinese cities using unstructured and semi-structured interviews. Although the sample size was modest, it was complemented by 103 additional data sources, including academic literature and media reports, to ensure theoretical saturation and analytical reliability. NVivo 12 software was used to conduct the coding and analysis.Results: The analysis identified four interconnected elements contributing to service effectiveness: basic conditions (facilities, equipment, programs, and personnel), management systems (incentives, financial/material support, regulations), operational supervision (activity organization, safety, quality control), and service outcomes (student gains, achieved goals). These elements form a dynamic system, influencing outcomes through both direct and interactive mechanisms.Conclusion and Implications: To improve implementation, the study recommends a multi-level strategy that includes enhancing resource accessibility, developing standardized evaluation systems, integrating digital supervision platforms, and offering teacher training programs. These suggestions are feasible when aligned with existing education policies and community partnerships.Future Directions: Future studies should incorporate larger, more diverse samples and consider student and administrator perspectives. Quantitative approaches are also needed to validate the grounded theory model. Beyond physical fitness, after-school sports services foster students' psychological resilience, social skills, and long-term engagement in healthy lifestyles, making them a valuable component of holistic education.
Keywords: after-school sports services, Primary and secondary schools, grounded theory, Service effectiveness, Enhancement strategies
Received: 27 May 2025; Accepted: 26 Aug 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Yang and Men. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Dan Yang, Suqian College, Suqian, China
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