Selective psychological benefits of small-group teaching model in junior high school physical education: a randomized pretest, posttest controlled study of physical self-esteem and self-efficacy

IntroductionPhysical education (PE) is a socially evaluative school context in which adolescents’ body-related self-evaluations and efficacy beliefs may be shaped by peer interaction, feedback, and classroom organization. This study examined whether the Small-Group Teaching Model (SGTM) was associated with higher physical self-esteem and general self-efficacy among junior high school students after baseline adjustment, whether its effects were selectively concentrated in physical self-worth, whether gender functioned as a boundary condition, and whether physical self-esteem and self-efficacy showed coordinated change across the intervention period.MethodsA school-based randomized pretest, posttest controlled design was used. Eighty eighth-grade students from two classes in one middle school in Chengdu, China, participated in a 15-week PE intervention. After baseline assessment, students were individually randomized to either the SGTM condition or a traditional-instruction control condition. The SGTM condition emphasized heterogeneous grouping, task cards, structured peer feedback, and rotating group roles, whereas the control condition followed the same curriculum content and lesson duration under teacher-directed instruction. Physical self-esteem was assessed using the Chinese Physical Self-Esteem Scale, and general self-efficacy was assessed using the Chinese version of the General Self-Efficacy Scale. Data were analyzed using two-way analyses of covariance, tests of homogeneity of regression slopes, Pearson correlations, and Holm correction for multiple comparisons.ResultsAfter controlling for baseline scores, students in the SGTM condition showed higher posttest self-efficacy and physical self-esteem than those in the control condition. No statistically significant gender or Group × Gender interaction effects were observed for the primary outcomes. At the physical self-perception scale level, physical self-worth was the only scale that remained statistically significant after Holm correction. Physical self-esteem and self-efficacy were positively associated at pretest, posttest, and change-score levels, with the strongest association observed for change scores.DiscussionThese findings suggest that the implemented SGTM instructional package may be associated with more favorable psychological outcomes in PE, particularly general self-efficacy and global physical self-worth, although the effects appeared selective rather than uniformly distributed across domain-specific physical self-perceptions.