THE EFFECT OF TRADITIONAL GAMES EDUCATION ON PHYSICAL FITNESS, HEALTH AND HAPPINESS LEVELS IN SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS

The effects of traditional games on various aspects of physical fitness need to be revealed for children and adolescents to transform them into lasting behaviors in physical education classes and daily life. This study aims to examine the impact of traditional game education (TGE) and physical education lessons, along with elective sports and physical activity classes (PE + ESPAC), on the physical fitness, health, and happiness levels of middle school students. Within this scope, traditional games were played by the experimental groups for 10 weeks after pre-tests, and post-tests were conducted. In addition to PE the control group received elective sports and physical activity classes (ESPAC). Measurements were taken for height, body weight, body mass index, sit and reach test, double leg standing broad jump, T-test, 30-meter sprint test, and 20-meter shuttle run test in both pre-tests and post-tests. Additionally, participants' perceptions of health and happiness were assessed with two questions. The students were engaged in traditional games such as "capture the flag", "hopscotch", "dodgeball", and "tag". The sample of the research was determined using the easily accessible sampling method, and it consisted of voluntary students from 5th and 6th grades at Barbaros Middle School in the Ereğli district of Konya province. The research design followed an experimental model with pre-test and post-test. Independent T-tests, paired T-tests, and correlation coefficients between variables were calculated for data analysis. Cohen’s d was used to determine the effect size within groups. In the comparison of the findings of this study, TGE and PE + ESPAC groups, a significant difference was found in favor of the experimental group in agility and speed skills only in males. In Cohen's d analyses, in the male experimental group, traditional game education had a large effect on speed and agility, a moderate effect on shuttle running and health perception, and a low effect on BMI, double leg standing broad jump (DLSBJ) and happiness perception. In the female experimental group, it has a large effect on agility, a moderate effect on average speed and perception of happiness, and a low effect on body height, flexibility, DLSBJ, shuttle run test and health perception. In boys, PE plus ESPAC education has a low effect on body height, average speed, shuttle running, agility, perception of health and happiness, while in girls, it has a moderate effect on average speed and shuttle run test and a low effect on DLSBJ, agility and health perception. While there was a significant relationship between the perception of health and happiness in both genders during the pre-test, this relationship was observed only in the male group in the post-test. In the posttests, structural characteristics between perceptions of health and happiness and physical fitness variables showed a significant negative relationship, while flexibility was positively related to standing double-leg long jump (DLSBJ), mean 30 m speed, shuttle run and agility speed. In conclusion, it is clear that in terms of improving physical fitness and perceptions of health and happiness, the traditional games education in the experimental group is more effective than the the physical education plus elective sports and physical activity lessons in the control group.