What do you think about learning in physical education? Unveiling Taiwanese high school students’ conceptions of learning physical education

Background: While the ‘conceptions of learning’ framework extensively maps epistemological beliefs in cognitive disciplines, its application to the somatic domain of physical education (PE) remains critically underexplored. In Taiwan's credentialist educational culture, PE is frequently marginalized into assessment-driven compliance. Investigating how adolescents construct meaning from bodily movement in such restrictive environments is essential for dismantling performance-centric paradigms and advancing physical literacy.Purpose: This phenomenographic study aimed to uncover how Taiwanese high school students conceptualize learning in physical education (CoLPE). Mapping the structural and referential variations of these embodied conceptions explores the intersection between students’ intrinsic psychological needs and the systemic constraints of an examination-driven culture.Methods: Employing a qualitative phenomenographic methodology, researchers purposively sampled 45 high school students (23 males, 22 females) across Taiwan. Data was collected through 45- to 60-minute semi-structured interviews contrasting general learning beliefs with PE-specific experiences. Following rigorous phenomenographic procedures, verbatim transcripts underwent continuous, iterative analysis. Researchers pooled core summaries to generate distinct meanings, establishing hierarchically related categories of description.Results: The analysis constructed seven hierarchically ordered categories of CoLPE: (1) Skill Testing, (2) Motor Skills Acquisition, (3) Engaging Physical Activity, (4) Increasing Knowledge of Sports, (5) Sports Knowledge Integration, (6) Embodiment Practice, and (7) Seeing the Physical in a New Way. These reveal a continuum ranging from surface-level, quantitative orientations driven by examination cultures (Categories 1–4) to deep, constructivist perspectives propelled by robust intrinsic motivation (Categories 5–7).Conclusion: Taiwanese high school students possess a profound capacity for deep, embodied learning, though this potential is frequently suppressed by rigid, assessment-driven cultures. Because individuals often hold multiple, overlapping conceptions simultaneously depending on the pedagogical context, cultivating higher-order physical literacy requires educators to shift from rote skill reproduction toward meaning-making.