Multilevel Mechanisms of In-and-Out-of-Class Integrated Physical Education on Adolescents' Physical Health: A Qualitative Study Based on Socio-ecological and Social Cognitive Theories

Yali Han^*Woong-jae Choi^*

• Pai Chai University, Seo District, Daejeon, Republic of Korea

The physical health crisis of adolescents has become a core challenge in the field of global public health and education. As an emerging intervention method, the internal mechanism of the "in-class and out-of-class integration" (IOCI) sports teaching model has not been systematically explained under the cross-theoretical framework. Although the social ecological model (SEM) and social cognitive theory (SCT) reveal the independent influence of environmental level and individual cognition respectively, the synergistic logic of the two in the intervention of adolescent sports behavior still needs to be broken through. Research innovation and methods: This study first integrated the five-level ecological framework of "individual-interpersonal-organization-community-policy" of SEM and the cognitive mechanism of "self-efficacy-observational learning-behavioral ability" of SCT, and adopted a mixed qualitative research design (including semi-structured interviews with 120 participants from 3 schools in Qingdao, NVivo 12 grounded theory coding and triangulation verification) to construct a dynamic multi-level model of IOCI on adolescent physical health. The study ensured the adequacy of the data through theoretical saturation test (no new coding appeared in 5 consecutive interviews), and introduced an international comparative perspective to strengthen the universality of the theory. Key findings: 1. Individual cognitive engine: The mastery of sports skills (such as the three-step layup in basketball) constitutes the core psychological driving force for behavior change through the path analysis of "success experience → self-efficacy improvement → active participation" and combined with observational learning demonstrated by parents/peers (such as the "demonstration-imitation" chain of family cycling); 2. Environmental synergy network: Micro-meso level: the school's "basic + special + characteristic" curriculum system and the family's "emotional companionship-exercise habit transmission" mechanism form an "interest-driven-environmental response" closed loop; 3. Macro level: the community's "venue sharing + professional guidance" model (such as smart reservation systems and social instructors) combines with the policy of "sports and education integration assessment" (such as incorporating physical health into government performance) to build a rigid resource guarantee; 3. Cross-level emergence effect: The snowball-like synergy of "family support → school feedback → community participation" is discovered to break through the limitations of traditional single-level intervention.