Enhancing physical education through technology and freestyle wrestling: impact on elementary school students’ activity, engagement and motivation

Introduction: Both society and the educational community have shown a discernible increase in interest in educational technologies in recent years. Technology has a big influence on education overall, but there are a lot of questions and concerns about how it will be used in physical education. Objective: The study aims to assess a technology-enhanced physical education program that incorporates freestyle wrestling techniques to improve elementary school students' physical activity, engagement and motivation. Methodology: This study was conducted using a quantitative method, the author's questionnaire. A total of 108 participants participated in the study; they were from primary schools. Results: The diagnostic study's findings conclude that students' interest in freestyle wrestling instruction was rather high. Another basis for developing the methodology was the results of the conducted ascertaining experiment on the level of physical fitness of schoolchildren aged 9–10. Discussion: It was revealed that the attitude of students toward regulated physical education classes in elementary schools is mostly negative. Conclusions: These findings suggest that, in comparison to traditional physical education, the technology-enhanced program that incorporated freestyle wrestling techniques significantly improved the physical activity, engagement, and motivation of elementary school pupils.