The pedagogical models in physical education: A scoping review of contemporary approaches, implementation challenges, and future directions

Over the past two decades, physical education (PE) has experienced rapid development in terms of pedagogical models that aim to improve student learning in various domains, ranging from Sport Education, Teaching Personal and Social Responsibility (TPSR), Cooperative Learning, Meaningful Physical Education, Teaching Games for Understanding (TGfU), to Outdoor Adventure Education (OAE). However, this diversity of models actually causes confusion among teachers in choosing and adapting the model that best suits their local context. This research aims to map contemporary pedagogical models in physical education, identify common implementation barriers, and propose a decision-making framework that can assist teachers in selecting and implementing models effectively. This study is a scoping review literature study that analyzes 45 empirical studies published between 2015 and 2025. The results of the review identified six dominant families of pedagogical models, each with different objectives, core features, and evidence bases. The main implementation challenges include inadequate teacher readiness, implementation fidelity issues, contextual constraints such as limited resources and time, and the need for sustainable professional development. Based on these findings, this study proposes a four-dimensional decision-making framework that is interconnected, namely purpose, people, place, and process. This framework is expected to help teachers move beyond mere model adoption towards model adaptation and hybridization in response to local realities. This study concludes that the successful implementation of the pedagogical model is highly dependent on the alignment between the model's objectives, student characteristics, school context, and gradual and collaborative process strategies. Implicitly, the professional development of teachers and the support of the professional learning community are the main keys in transforming physical education learning practices that are more meaningful, inclusive, and equitable.