International Journal of Human Movement and Sports Sciences Vol. 14(3), pp. 747 - 755
DOI: 10.13189/saj.2026.140318
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Psychological Effectiveness of Online Physical Education Lectures among Vietnamese University Students

Thanh Nguyen Duc ¹, Tinh Nguyen The ^2,*
1 Center for Physical Education, Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology and Education, Vietnam
² Faculty of Physical Education, Hue University, Vietnam

ABSTRACT

Background: Vietnamese universities expanded online delivery of Physical Education (PE) during and after COVID-19, yet evidence on psychological outcomes for non-PE majors remains limited. Objective: To examine pre–post changes in psychological indicators associated with participation in a structured online PE lecture system across four sport modules (chess, volleyball, tennis, football). Methods: A quasi-experimental pre–post design was implemented with 400 non-PE major students enrolled in online PE via an institutional LMS integrating multimedia lessons, interactive tasks, and feedback activities. Psychological outcomes were assessed using SF-36 subscales (vitality/energy–fatigue, mental health, role limitations due to emotional problems, Social Functioning) alongside a brief learning-experience questionnaire. Analyses included descriptive statistics, paired t-tests, and one-way ANOVA; complete paired data were available for n = 160. Results: Significant improvements were observed across all SF-36 indicators: vitality increased from 48.53±17.40 to 63.28±16.97 (+14.75; p<0.001), mental health from 54.10±15.22 to 66.23±14.31 (+12.13; p<0.001), Role-Emotional from 51.62±19.87 to 69.54±20.41 (+17.92; p<0.001), and Social Functioning from 62.41±16.88 to 70.99±17.22 (+8.58; p<0.001). Between-module differences were small but favored football and tennis for vitality (F=4.53; p=0.004). Conclusion: Participation in well-designed online PE lectures was associated with significant improvements in psychological indicators. However, causal effects cannot be inferred due to the absence of a control group. Online PE could nevertheless serve as a complementary component of blended PE curricula in higher education rather than being viewed solely as an emergency solution.

KEYWORDS
Online Physical Education, Psychological Effectiveness, Vitality, Mental Health, University Students

Cite This Paper in IEEE or APA Citation Styles
(a). IEEE Format:
[1] Thanh Nguyen Duc , Tinh Nguyen The , "Psychological Effectiveness of Online Physical Education Lectures among Vietnamese University Students," International Journal of Human Movement and Sports Sciences, Vol. 14, No. 3, pp. 747 - 755, 2026. DOI: 10.13189/saj.2026.140318.

(b). APA Format:
Thanh Nguyen Duc , Tinh Nguyen The (2026). Psychological Effectiveness of Online Physical Education Lectures among Vietnamese University Students. International Journal of Human Movement and Sports Sciences, 14(3), 747 - 755. DOI: 10.13189/saj.2026.140318.