THEORETICAL INSIGHTS INTO THE COVID-19 EFFECTS ON CHILDREN'S MOTOR SKILLS AND SCHOOL-BASED PHYSICAL EDUCATION

Sabina Maria Greceanu, Monica Iulia Stănescu

Abstract


The COVID-19 pandemic caused a profound disruption of global educational systems, with significant consequences on students’ motor development and the structure of physical education lessons. The suspension of in-person classes, restricted access to sports activities, and the abrupt shift to online learning led to a dramatic decrease in physical activity levels among middle school students. This theoretical article analyzes, based on specialized literature, the pandemic’s effects on motor parameters such as endurance, strength, and coordination, and emphasizes the need for curricular reorganization adapted to new educational realities. The article discusses the challenges faced by teachers and students in delivering physical education under remote or restricted conditions, as well as the necessary intervention directions for reducing motor development gaps and building a more equitable and functional educational framework.

 

Article visualizations:

Hit counter


Keywords


physical education, COVID-19, motor capacity, adapted curriculum, middle school

Full Text:

PDF

References


Bailey, R., Armour, K., Kirk, D., Jess, M., Pickup, I., Sandford, R., & Penney, D. (2022). Reframing Physical Education in the Post-COVID Era. European Physical Educa-tion Review, 28(1), 3–18.

Dunton, G. F., Do, B., & Wang, S. D. (2020). Early Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior in Children Living in the U.S. BMC Public Health, 20(1), 1351. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-020-09429-3

Harris, J., & Sandford, R. (2022). The COVID-19 pandemic and physical education: The impact on teachers and implications for future practice. European Journal of Physi-cal Education and Sport Science, 8(1), 14–29. https://doi.org/10.46827/ejpe.v8i1.4127

Howley, D. (2021). Challenges for Physical Education Teachers Teaching Online During COVID-19. Journal of Teaching in Physical Education, 41(1), 42–50. https://doi.org/10.1123/jtpe.2020-0172

Jurak, G., Morrison, S. A., Leskošek, B., Kovac, M., Hadžić, V., Vuković, R., & Starc, G. (2021). Physical Activity During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Adolescents from Central and Eastern Europe. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(4), 2146.

Pietrobelli, A., Pecoraro, L., Ferruzzi, A., Heo, M., Faith, M., Zoller, T., Antoniazzi, F., Piacentini, G., Fearnbach, N., & Heymsfield, S. (2020). Effects of COVID-19 Lock-down on Lifestyle Behaviors in Children with Obesity Living in Verona, Italy: A Longitu-dinal Study. Obesity, 28(8), 1382–1385. https://doi.org/10.1002/oby.22861

Roth, A., Köhler, M., & Gieß-Stüber, P. (2021). Physical Education Outdoors: A Re-sponse Model from Germany in the Face of the COVID-19 Pandemic. Sustainabil-ity, 13(13), http://dx.doi.org/10.5960/dzsm.2022.537.

Tambalis, K. D., Panagiotakos, D. B., Psarra, G., & Sidossis, L. S. (2021). Physical fitness and its associations with academic performance and school behavior among primary school children in Greece during the COVID-19 pandemic. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(9), 4930. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18094930

Tomkinson, G. R., & Olds, T. S. (2021). Secular Changes in the Physical Fitness of Chil-dren and Adolescents: A Global Perspective. Sports Medicine, 51(6), 1117–1128. https://doi.org/10.1159/000101075




DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.46827/ejpe.v12i8.6127

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


Copyright (c) 2025 Sabina Maria Greceanu, Monica Iulia Stănescu

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Copyright © 2015 - 2026. European Journal of Physical Education and Sport Science (ISSN 2501 - 1235) is a registered trademark of Open Access Publishing Group. All rights reserved.


This journal is a serial publication uniquely identified by an International Standard Serial Number (ISSN) serial number certificate issued by Romanian National Library (Biblioteca Nationala a Romaniei). All the research works are uniquely identified by a CrossRef DOI digital object identifier supplied by indexing and repository platforms. All authors who send their manuscripts to this journal and whose articles are published on this journal retain full copyright of their articles. All the research works published on this journal are meeting the Open Access Publishing requirements and can be freely accessed, shared, modified, distributed and used in educational, commercial and non-commercial purposes under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).