From Field to Life: Conditional Value Transfer and Ecological Constraint in Elementary Physical Education

Abstract

The claim that sport builds character is asserted more often than it is examined. This study investigated what changes elementary physical education teachers actually observe in students after values-based instruction, how far those values travel beyond lesson time, and which constraints shape the work. A descriptive qualitative design was applied with nine physical education teachers from five public elementary schools in Padang, Indonesia, whose teaching experience ranged from five to twenty years. Semi-structured interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed through open, axial, and selective coding with cross-case matrix comparison, and reported constraints were subsequently classified by ecological system level. Teachers observed change in four domains, namely habit and self-regulation, social relations, emotional regulation, and fitness with achievement. Transfer beyond the lesson was visible in classrooms, informal school spaces, and relationships with former students, but participants stated that their observation ends at the school gate. Change was described as incremental and fragile, sustained only by continuous reminding, and every success claim rested on unaided observation without any assessment instrument. Constraints formed four layers running from student development to teacher competence, most of them outside teacher control.