Outdoor Activity-Based Physical Education and Wearable Technology for Student Fitness and Well-Being Support

Abstract

Objective: Physical inactivity among adolescents is a critical global health issue, with over 80% of adolescents failing to meet WHO recommendations for daily physical activity. While conventional physical education (PE) contributes to student health, there remains a need for pedagogical innovation that enhances objective monitoring and deeper student engagement. An outdoor activity-based PE approach integrated with wearable technology offers a promising model within the framework of achieving SDG 3. This study aims to examine the effectiveness of a physical education program based on outdoor activities integrated with wearable technology in improving the physical fitness and psychological well-being of high school students. Methods and Materials: A pretest–posttest quasi-experimental design with a control group was applied to 30 male students at State Senior High School 12 Semarang, divided equally into an experimental group (n = 15) and a control group (n = 15) using ordinal pairing based on initial Harvard Fitness Index (HFI) scores. The experimental group participated in a structured outdoor physical education program for eight weeks (3 sessions/week, 50–65 minutes/session) using Polar Watch devices. Psychological well-being was measured using the Indonesian adaptation of Ryff's Psychological Well-Being Scale (RPWB; 6 dimensions), and physical fitness was assessed via the Harvard Step Test (HFI). Data were analyzed using the Wilcoxon Signed-Rank Test and the Mann-Whitney U Test (α = 0.05). Findings: All variables in the experimental group showed statistically significant improvements (p ≤ 0.05) with moderate to large effect sizes: total well-being score (W = 0.0; Z = −3.41; p = 0.001; r = 0.604), all six RPWB dimensions (r = 0.376–0.548), and HFI (W = 0.0; Z = −3.40; p = 0.001; r = 0.602). The proportion of students categorized as Good fitness increased from 0% to 46.7%, and the Low Well-being category disappeared entirely in the post-test. Notably, the control group also showed significant within-group improvements across all variables, confirming that regular physical education also produced meaningful benefits. There were no significant differences in gains between groups (p > 0.05) for seven of eight outcomes; the only significant between-group difference was in Environmental Mastery, which favored the control group (p = 0.011). Conclusion: An outdoor activity-based physical education program integrated with wearable technology was associated with significant improvements in psychological well-being and physical fitness within the experimental group of male high school students. However, the absence of significant between-group differences indicates that structured physical activity in any format—whether outdoor or conventional—can provide meaningful health benefits for adolescents. Although wearable technology may have supported objective monitoring and self-regulatory awareness during the program, its independent contribution to outcome improvements could not be established in this study.