The purpose of this study was to explore the sport savoring perspective for promoting physical education among secondary school female students. To this end, the research questions were as follows: First, how do secondary school female students and physical education teachers perceive sport savoring? Second, in what ways do secondary school female students engage in sport savoring? Third, what factors influence the sport savoring of secondary school female students? Fourth, what practical strategies can enhance sport savoring among secondary school female students?
Grounded in the interpretivist paradigm, the researcher conducted a qualitative grounded theory approach to deeply explore participants' experiences and events. The research was conducted over an 18-month period, from July 2024 to December 2025, progressing through four stages: theoretical inquiry, research design, research implementation, and the analysis and synthesis of results. Research participants were selected through purposeful sampling. 10 secondary school physical education teachers and 10 secondary school female students participated in open-ended questionnaire and in-depth interviews. In addition, to incorporate a more comprehensive and diverse range of female students' voices, 30 secondary school female students were selected to complete the open-ended questionnaire. Qualitative data were collected through open-ended questionnaires, in-depth interviews, and local documents. The analysis of the collected data followed the processes of description, analysis, and interpretation. To ensure the trustworthiness of the research, triangulation, member checking, and peer debriefing were conducted. To adhere to research ethics, the researcher completed a research ethics training program and underwent review and approval procedures by the Institutional Review Board(IRB).
The findings derived from the above processes are as follows. First, an examination of perceptions regarding sport savoring revealed both positive and negative perspectives. Regarding positive perceptions, four categories were identified: ① ‘Stimulating Curiosity’, which leads to increased interest and expanded participation in sports; ② ‘New Experiences’, which enables the expansion of experiences and diversification of methods; ③ ‘Everyone Together’, which strengthens social communication and cooperation; and ④ ‘Satisfying Diversity’, which facilitates a multifaceted understanding of sports. Conversely, negative perceptions were classified into two categories: ① ‘Lack of Physical Activity’, characterized by decreased physical participation and a decline in concentration among some students, and ② ‘Operational Burden’, which highlighted the complexity of lesson preparation and management, as well as difficulties in evaluation.
Second, it was confirmed that secondary school female students engage in sport savoring through a variety of modes. Fifteen distinct patterns were identified across five categories of savoring: participation/practice, cognitive/appreciation, expression/creation, exchange/sharing, and collection/preservation. Within participation/practice savoring, the patterns included: ①doing(challenging oneself beyond personal limits, moving together in harmony, extending participation into daily life), ②creating(making props, producing videos, devising strategies, creating works), ③calculating(tracking and calculating records, analyzing games). Within cognitive/appreciation savoring, the patterns included: ①reading(reading sports books, web novels, pamphlets, others' opinions, sports articles), ②viewing(watching sports videos, live games, movies, variety shows, observing skilled performers), ③listening(listening to music, advice from teachers and friends, sports broadcasts), ④thinking(considering rules and methods, reflecting on sportsmanship and life), ⑤feeling(reminiscing, sensing bodily sensations, experiencing emotions, recognizing possibilities). Within expression/creation savoring, the patterns included: ①drawing(designing, expressing through flags), ②writing(writing thoughts, documenting lessons, writing reflections), ③singing(chanting slogans, singing sports songs, cheering). Within exchange/sharing savoring, the patterns included: ①speaking(engaging in conversation, presenting, broadcasting), ②sharing(sharing feelings, knowledge and thoughts, encouragement, a sense of belonging), ③attachment(gradually immersing oneself, practicing consistently, deepening engagement in diverse ways). Within collecting/preservation savoring, the patterns included: ①collecting(gathering sports goods, collecting photos and videos, gathering friends).
Third, factors influencing secondary school female students' sport savoring were derived into five categories: personal factors, relational factors, environmental factors, cultural factors, and institutional factors. Personal factors include: ①prior experience, ②time availability, ③emotional engagement. Relational factors include: ①peer and friend atmosphere, ②family, ③teachers (PE teachers, homeroom and subject teachers, teacher community). Environmental factors include: ①facilities and equipment(on-campus, off-campus), ②physical education class conditions(positive class environment, negative class environment). Cultural factors include: ①social perception(on-campus, off-campus), ②media(variety shows, comics(webtoons), SNS), ③sports fan culture. Institutional factors include: ①school programs(short-term programs, long-term programs), ②budget support projects, ③curriculum.
Fourth, practical strategies to enhance sports savoring among secondary school female students were divided into three stages: ‘Initiating’, ‘Expanding’, and ‘Advancing’. For each stage, specific measures were presented in a stepwise manner: ‘knowing oneself’, ‘interaction’, ‘shaping environment’, ‘cultivating culture’, and ‘sustaining’. The ‘Initiating’ stage, the first step in sport savoring, includes: ①knowing oneself(exploring personal sport savoring styles, strengthening autonomy and choice), ②interaction(providing teacher attention), ③shaping environment(creating savoring-friendly environments). The ‘Expanding’ stage, where sport savoring broadens, includes: ①interaction(operating female student-centered activities, promoting communication and participation), ②shaping environment(diversifying classes), ③cultivating culture(forming a sports culture). The ‘Advancing’ stage, in which sport savoring deepens, includes: ①shaping environment(designing integrated experiences), ②cultivating culture(transferring across savoring modes), ③sustaining(applying policies and curriculum, embedding into daily life).
Through a comprehensive interpretation of the findings, the following discussions were conducted. First, sport savoring strengthens secondary school students' choice and autonomy in sports, enables expansion and connection beyond physical education into education as a whole, and increases the potential for secondary school female students to grow into sports enthusiasts(philosporter). Therefore, proactive efforts are necessary to expand opportunities and experiences for sport participation by incorporating sport savoring approaches. Second, to promote sport savoring among secondary school female students, the surrounding environment—including schools, families, society, and policy—must collaborate to create a ‘sport savoring-supportive ecosystem’. Through cooperation among factors influencing sport savoring, a foundation is established where sport savoring can function as a natural culture for secondary school female students. Third, revitalizing physical education for secondary school female students must take a broad, multi-dimensional approach that operates across multiple domains. This overcomes the problems of exclusion and discrimination that arise when focusing solely on function and provides the potential to extend beyond school physical education into lifelong physical activity.
Suggestions for implementation in schools and further research according to this research are as follows. For practice, first, secondary physical education teachers must understand the sport savoring perspective when considering the promotion of female students' physical education. Based on this understanding, overall instructional improvements are necessary to cultivate female students' competencies in engaging with physical activity culture. Second, it is necessary to identify and document cases related to sport savoring and to consistently conduct related research, so that secondary physical education teachers can understand sport savoring and apply it in school settings. Third, support at the environmental and institutional levels is required to enhance secondary female students' sport savoring. For further research, first, specific studies are required to examine how sport savoring is enacted and functions within physical education classes. Second, the scope of research should be broadened by extending the sport savoring perspective in physical education revitalization from secondary school female students to all students, and from in-school physical education classes to out-of-school physical activity. Third, there is a need for studies that deeply explore not only diverse instructional cases within physical education curriculum but also sports-based instructional practices in other subject areas.