Study on the effects of the physical education program in Japanese university: Integrates sports and life skills development

Abstract Life skills (LS) training programs help individuals develop their mental health and stress-related attitudes. This study aims to build a versatile physical education program (PEP) to promote LS and examine its effectiveness. The subjects were first-year Japanese university students. We conducted the LS survey in April (pre-semester) and August (post-semester) 2019. To analyze the difference in LS subscales scores depending on the PEP at the pre-semester/post-semester, we conducted two-way ANOVA repeated measures with the Semester-Sports item and examined simple main effects. As a result, there were significant interactions on the subscales “leadership (F (2,285) = 8.20, P < 0.001), ” “planning (F (2,285) = 3.97, p < 0.05),” “self-esteem (F (2,285) = 7.73, p < 0.001),” and “positive thinking (F (2,285) = 3.07, p < 0.05).” Multiple comparison results showed that average scores for Tai Chi were significantly higher than Nordic walking and Basketball at the pre-semester. Moreover, there was a significant difference in all LS subscales between pre-semester and post-semester. This study suggested this PEP effectively developed the LS for new university students.


Background
In recent years, the number of university dropouts and applications for leave of absence from Japanese University students has been increasing due to human relationships and loss of motivation to learn.It has been suggested that contemporary Japanese university students lack the essential ability to deal with the irritation and stress of everyday life and the ability to adapt to the situation (Chen & Tsuchiya, 2016;Chen et al., 2020Chen et al., , 2021)).To face these issues, pupils must acquire skills to cope with stressful situations and life difficulties.It has been reported that life skills education programs help people improve their mental health, and attitude in dealing with stressful situations (Gerami et al., 2015;Monkong et al., 2009;Sobhi-Gharamaleki & Rajabi, 2010).
Life Skills (LS) are described by World Health Organization (2020) as "the abilities for adaptive and positive behavior that enable individuals to deal effectively with the demands and challenges of everyday life."In particular, LS are psychosocial competencies and interpersonal skills, including decision-making, problem-solving, creative thinking, critical thinking, effective communication, interpersonal relationship skills, self-awareness, empathy, coping with emotions, and coping with stress (WHO, 2020).In addition, LS is a set of capacities to accept social changes such as psychological changes in themselves and the surrounding environment (Tokairin et al., 2012).Various experiences have been described as LS enhancement (WHO, 2020).

Sports and LS
In previous studies, extracurricular activities such as music, drama, and sports can develop young people's life skills (Holt et al., 2017;Larson et al., 2006).In other studies, sports and athletic activities effectively improve LS (Choi et al., 2015;Papacharisis et al., 2005).For example, in athletic activity, skill improvement and victory through experiences such as setting team goals and individual goals and attaining them via support from peers, discussions with team members, communicating with teammates, and demonstrating leadership in a group all provide valuable learning experiences and help develop life skills (Ewing et al., 2002;Petitpas et al., 2004).As previously suggested by Danish (2002) and Shimamoto and Yonekawa (2014), we believe it is possible to acquire goal-setting and various communication skills.
However, Danish et al. (2004) said that sport was not magical and could only be used to promote life skills development.Without being told about the skills, the participants had or may not have established the links between using skills in sports and the classroom.
In addition, the Class-Based Physical Education at universities is often delivered to the same groups of students for the duration of a semester, similar to the technical skills acquired in sports.This consistency in grouping and membership provides an opportunity for the development of interpersonal relations to further facilitate human relationships and goal setting.It is supposed that there are many opportunities to practice and learn according to the situation, and the accumulation of such experiences becomes training in human relations or achievement goals in physical education (Hoshino, 1997;Xiang & Lee, 2013) and leads to the acquisition of LS (communication skills, leadership, etc.).Furthermore, previous studies by Ronkainen et al. (2021) and Shimamoto and Ishii (2009) also reported that sports experience in physical education classes positively affects the development of LS.It is considered that the students' LS will be promoted through the experience of various exercise events in the physical education program (PEP); however, some students like exercise, but others do not.In addition, the study by Anira et al. (2021) suggested that the physical activity program integrated with life skills significantly improved the students' life skills (including teamwork, goal setting, time management, emotional skills, interpersonal communication, social skills, leadership, problem-solving, and decision making) compared with those without integration.Therefore, when considering the impact of sports experience on the LS in class, it is necessary to include learning outcomes that encourage the acquisition of LS while assessing students' athletic ability, which is the fundamental purpose of physical education classes.For example, Figure 1 illustrates the relationship between PEP, LS, and sports experience.Physical education is a subject in which students aim to achieve their goals through individual practice and cooperation with their peers.We believe that the key to encouraging the improvement of LS in physical education classes lies in the experiences gained through sports, where students often express sentiments like "It was fun," "I understood," and "I was able to do it."However, it is thought that students may find it challenging to acquire LS through the content of physical education classes that primarily focus on "physical movement" alone.Therefore, adopting the perspective of "learning from sports and incorporating sports into learning," an essential program is needed to enhance LS in physical education classes.Central to our hypothesis is that students' LS will increase through PEP participation.This study aims to construct a highly versatile PEP that can be a part of formal university education to improve the students' physical strength and promote LS levels.Simultaneously, we examine the effect of the PEP.

Program development policy
Since it is necessary to develop a program that can be referred to in Japan, the image of a PEP can be summarized as follows: (1) in a limited time, (2) all students can do it at the same time, (3) it is easy for teachers to implement, (4) university students can garner enjoyment through participation in the activity, (5) be effective, that be considered to have the multifaceted advantages.It is necessary to realize such a wide range of considerations and ingenuity to improve the students' LS by taking university PEP.Therefore, proceed with the program under the three conditions shown in Figure 2.
The first condition is "the conditions that should be cleared by school exercise support," including: (1) considering the content of PEP that complies with the educational guidelines corresponding to the Japanese curriculum guidelines (Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan, 2018), ( 2) taking an interval form of "High-Intensity Interval Training: HIIT" to improve physical fitness.Figure 3 shows the HIIT of the PEP.To improve the students' physical strength, interval training with a target load of 5 minutes is carried out in each class.Concretely, the step aerobics (30 seconds) and the breathing exercises (30 seconds) are performed alternately in 5 sets.It is expected to significantly affect both anaerobic and aerobic mechanisms in a short period.The second condition, "elements required for the program," involves (1) team formation, (2) division of roles within the team, (3) goal-setting (setting team goals and individual goals), (4) partial change of competition rules to ensure maximum participation from all participants, (5) selfdisclosure by teachers (drawing out self-disclosure of students), (6) positive wording by teachers (recognition correction for failure).Incorporate these elements (1) to (6) into the program to promote the improvement of the eight target LS (Figure 2).The third condition is the "universality of the program," which can be applied to any sport.There is also a need for the perspective that teachers can quickly introduce the program.In addition, the content which promotes the acquisition of LS in each lesson is described in Table 1 and the flow of PEP is shown in Figure 4. Every PEP lesson is 90 minutes and divided into introduction, content development and conclusion.In the introduction, there will be a review and explanation of the previous lesson, followed by a warm-up.There will be instruction, exercises, and games in the content development.A relaxation and review section will be put into practice in the conclusion.Specifically, in this study's PEP, we place emphasis on the following educational models.By having the same group of students learn together for a certain period, they can deepen their relationships with each other.Through cooperative learning (Kurita, 2018) and mutual support towards common goals, the development of interpersonal relationships and goal setting can be facilitated.The consistent grouping and membership in the PEP provide opportunities for students to connect with each other and grow together.Furthermore, the experiences of collaboration and communication with team members are expected to contribute to the development of students' social skills and leadership abilities.

Survey target
This study's participants were first-year students at one university in Osaka, Japan.From April to August 2019, students (N = 300) enrolled in PEP (including Tai Chi, Nordic Walking, or Basketball courses) (Tables 2-4) conducted a questionnaire survey.The number of valid responses was 288, including those from 121 males and 167 females, with the mean age of the respondents being 18.07 (±0.6 years).There was no difference in makeup or character between males and females, except for more female participants.
It was not unusual for a university physical education teacher to be responsible for multiple exercises in Japan.For example, teacher A was in charge of numerous sports such as softball and Tai Chi, and teacher B takes control of football and basketball.The number of students in one class was 30 to 45, and each sport had 15 lessons (Table 1) to promote LS in a PEP.Specifically, to grasp the LS level of the students, the 1st and 15th lessons were conducted as a set.First, teachers distribute questionnaires to all participants using the daily LS scale (university student version).Then, participants fill out the questionnaires immediately, and questionnaires were collected, which would be used to analyze changes in the LS levels of students before and after the semester.In the 2nd lesson [self-introduction in class], all students enrolled in the class will present their personal outcomes, the learning experiences and outcomes that they hoped to achieve from their involvement in this class, and in the process, listen to and adapt their own goals and ambitions to ensure all participants feel valued and could agree on shared outcomes.To aim for the friendship of all members, we introduced a self-introduction game.Since the target students had just entered the university, more than half of the classmates did not know each other's names, which was an excellent opportunity to know each other.Also, the LS interrelated "effective communication" was supposed to be gained.In the 3rd lesson "condition check", we tried to develop students' health management habits and conduct them using the condition check sheet.As mentioned at the beginning, various problems occurred in university students, especially concerns about the maladaptive behavior of those still in the developmental stage.Therefore, since it was meant to detect problems such as health management and mental issues at an early stage, we made a habit of checking the condition.The 4th and 10th lessons were conducted with lesson content related to "goal setting".In the 4th lesson, which had just started, students set goals for future student life.The 10th lesson was to learn the points and tips for setting goals.
Furthermore, the content of the 10th lesson was to review the set goals of the 4th lesson.In the 5th, 6th, and 7th lessons "Stress Management 1,2,3", we conducted lesson contents to practice positive image arousal, breathing method, and meditation.Image arousal (positive thinking) was done to maintain a positive psychological state.Specifically, it was necessary to (1) use positive content, (2) use a simple affirmative sentence, and (3) use the present tense.We added the 6th and 7th lessons to create better positive image arousal.The 8th and 14th lessons were conducted as lessons related to "Reflection".The 8th lesson was a review in the middle term, and the 14th lesson was at the end of the period.The aim was "review what happened so far (current self)" at the end of the physical education lesson on experience communication and to plan "what direction do you want to do from now on?".The 11th, 12th, and 13th lessons were content specific lessons "Group Works 1,2,3".At the beginning of the 11th lesson, the group and election of group leaders would be decided.Then, each group leader would lead the whole group, communicate closely, and work on common issues.In particular, leadership and communication skills were considered to be improved.In this way, how did self-consciousness change in relationships with others through sports and LS acquired through experiencing various lesson contents until the end of the semester through the LS acquisition program was set as an issue that could be read concretely.

Basic information
The questionnaires collect information regarding each participant's sex, age, and exercise conditions of sports club affiliation 1) University clubs, 2) Fitness clubs, 3) Sports club teams outside the university, 4) Not belonging to any club, and exercise levels were identified.
Additionally, we included items for measuring normal exercise intensity levels, requiring participants to select one from three choices: low (they can sing during exercise), middle (they can speak but cannot sing during training), and high (they can just speak a few words when stopping to breathe).

The life skills scale
We also measured the participants' LS using the Daily Life Skills Scale for College Students (DLS) developed by Shimamoto and Ishii (2006), which is based on previous studies regarding life and  Session12: Performance1-12.LS Coaching: Group works 2 (Theme: Tai Chi Group Practice).① In the case of Tai Chi instruction, students are required to record their body sensations and movements in a notebook during each session.② In Tai Chi, the music includes cues for the routine in addition to the accompaniment.This allows beginners in each group to practice while listening to the cues.
Session14: Performance1-24.LS Coaching: Review at the end of the term (fill in the retrospective sheet).(Continued) social skills (Suzuki, 1992).The DLS consists of eight subscales and twenty-four items.Each item was rated on a 4-point scale, from 1 (not at all), 2(somewhat), 3(moderately so) to 4 (very true).Higher scores are indicative of higher skills.The eight types of skills are classified as either "individual skills" or "interpersonal skills."The individual skills category includes "planning (PLA)," "knowledge summarization (KNO)," "self-esteem (SEL)," and "positive thinking (POS)."In contrast, the interpersonal skills category includes "intimacy (INT)," "leadership (LEA)," "empathy (EMP)," and "interpersonal manners (INT-MAN)." The study's ethical aspects were considered by obtaining the approval of all the participants before the investigation by teachers' cooperation.Moreover, this study protocol was approved by the Ethics Committee of Osaka University.

Data analysis
To analyze the interaction of the three sports and the semester in development of the LS, we assessed the data by the two-way ANOVA repeated measures used for iteration of each experiment performed by SPSS statistics software ver.28 (IBM).If it was a significant main effect or interaction, multiple comparisons by the Bonferroni method were performed as a post-test.The statistical significance level was set to 5%.
To analyze the effectiveness of the three sports (Tai Chi, Nordic Walking, and Basketball), we tested the differences in each student's pre-and post-semester LS scores depending on the type of sports by Kruskal-Wallis test, a nonparametric test (SPSS statistics software ver.28).

Interaction between semester and sports item for participation in PEP
We conducted a two-way repeated measure ANOVA to determine the impact of participating in different sports on LS.For the interaction term, Semester-Sports Item had conformed to Mauchly's spherical hypothesis (P = 1).Data were presented as mean (standard deviation).The interaction effect of the semester and sports items in Table 5 and Figure 5 showed on the scores of the 4 types of LS subscales including LEA, PLA, SEL, and POS (LEA: F(2,285) = 8.20, P < 0.001; PLA: F (2,285) = 3.97, p < 0.05; SEL: F(2,285) = 7.73, p < 0.001; POS: F(2,285) = 3.07, p < 0.05).Therefore, we tested semester as the within-subjects variables and sports items as the between subjects factors for the independent effects of these four types of LS subscales.
In taking Tai Chi, Nordic Walking, and Basketball courses, for the within-subject factor, the dependent variable conformed to the spherical hypothesis (P = 1).The semester factor has

Course Objective
Nordic Walking, one of the popular sports in Europe, has been adopted in school physical education in Japan.This course, from basic skills learning to practical games for health maintenance promotion.Improve one's ability to act and practice sports by improving basic physical fitness through sports and improving group communication skills.

Learning Goals
Upon completion of this course, the students should be able to do the followings:1)learning basic skills necessary for Nordic Walking, 2)realizing the pleasure and comfort of moving the body, the fun of sports itself by walking subjectively, 3) learning the importance of understanding, communication and empathy with partners by walking in pairs.

Specific examples of physical activities
Session1: Guidance (about matters related to attendance).
Life Skills (LS) Coaching: LS level check before the semester.Session2: Recommendation of walking habit (lecture).
LS Coaching: Self-introduction in class.
If it's too difficult to walk for 30 minutes at one time, do regular small bouts (10minutes) 3 times per day and gradually build up to longer sessions.Grip the poles correctly: Hold the poles with a relaxed grip, allowing fingers to wrap around the handles.The straps should be adjusted to fit snugly around wrists.

Type of Class
Seminar Subject

Course Objective
The course is an introduction to the sport of Basketball.Students will learn the critical elements of catching, passing, dribbling, shooting a basketball, offensive, and defensive play.Students will also be learning the enjoyment of playing Basketball through the many phases of the game.

■ Learning Goals
Students will accomplish the course objectives by learning the basic fundamentals of Basketball and enjoying various Basketball games.

Specific examples of physical activities
Session1: General information about this course outline.
Life Skills (LS) Coaching: LS level check before the semester.Session2: Individual basic skills training1) (Catching the ball with reasonable control and accuracy).
LS Coaching: Self-introduction in class.
Practice of passing to avoid defenders: Bounce pass and overhead pass.
Session3: Individual basic skills training2) (Lay-up and Shooting including a satisfactory fake and drive).LS Coaching: Condition check.
Repeat this drill from different angles around the basket, focusing on proper footwork, timing, and coordination.Once near the basket, execute a lay-up or finish with a jump shot, depending on the situation.
LS Coaching: Goal setting (set short-term and long-term goals).
Three-Man Weave: Divide the team into groups of three.Players pass the ball while moving up the court, weaving in and out of each other.Man-to-Man Defense: Players practice guarding an assigned opponent, focusing on maintaining proper defensive stance, footwork, and positioning.
a positive impact on the scores of the 4 LS subscales LEA, PLA, SEL, and POS participating in these three sports.The LS scores of students who took in Tai Chi course at the pre-semester (LEA: 8.12 ± 1.66; PLA: 8.  5).The results suggested that no matter which sport you participated in, if you took in PEP, the four LS subscales would improve.
Then we conducted multiple comparisons (Bonferroni).The Tai Chi participants' scores of the four LS subscales LEA, PLA, SEL, and POS at the pre-semester were significantly higher than the Basketball participants' (LEA: p < 0.001; PLA: p < 0.001; SEL: p < 0.001; POS: p < 0.001).Among the three LS subscales of LEA, PLA, and SEL, the participants in Tai Chi had significantly higher scores than the participants' in Nordic Walking (LEA: p < 0.01; PLA: p < 0.01; SEL: p < 0.05).In the two LS subscales, LEA and POS, there was a significant difference between participants' Nordic Walking and Basketball (LEA: p < 0.05; POS: p < 0.01).At the post-semester, there was no significant difference in scores of the four LS subscales, LEA, PLA, SEL, and POS (Table 5).We found that students who choose Tai Chi or Nordic Walking course have higher LS than those who select Basketball before physical education, especially those who choose Tai Chi.

Changes in LS levels before and after PEP
The present study sought to build a versatile PEP to help university students get the LS to face the fast-changing environment and cope with daily stress.
The LS levels of the students showed significantly higher post-semester than pre-semester through the three physical education courses, Tai Chi, Nordic walking, and Basketball.However, among the eight LS subscales, four (LEA, PLA, SEL, and POS) significantly differed between the three sports courses in pre-semester.
The subjects of this study were first-year students at national universities, which have higher standard scores than most universities all over Japan.So, it was necessary to understand the current situation to prepare for submitting assignments before taking classes (PLA, POS), thinking about content with quality and originality for tasks (SEL).Furthermore, few students had experienced physical education courses like Tai Chi and Nordic walking (from elementary to high school) until now.Since it seemed that, such as LEA, which contained the disposition of "choose a new class" and "work on a new task," was required.
In addition, from the results of multiple comparisons, Tai Chi, Nordic walking, and Basketball were in descending order of LS scores at the pre-semester.Still, it was hard to say that Tai Chi contributes the most effectively to improving the LS levels.Because Basketball, Tai Chi, and Nordic walking were arranged in descending order of changes in LS level throughout the one semester  2) INT: "intimacy", LEA: "leadership", PLA: "planning", EMP: "empathy", KNO: "knowledge summarization", SEL: "self-esteem", POS: "positive thinking", INT-MAN: "interpersonal manners".
(exercise experience).In other words, it was considered that among the three sports, Basketball was the most effective for developing LS levels.
Since Basketball is a team sport, it is easy to think that LEA is naturally required.It has been reported that LEA skills required capacities comprised organizational level, collecting, disseminating information, learning, and coordinating actions of oneself and others (Mumford et al., 2007).In the PEP, the team's communication implemented LS education's contents of conveying your thoughts about self-introduction and themes in the first lesson to others in an easy-understanding way and encouraging active discussion regardless of the listener.The second and subsequent lesson would improve and eliminate anxiety such as "how oneself behaves, how to make one's role and place."In addition, PLA and KNO were required for common issues in the team (goals for victory, etc.).Moreover, after deciding the role, changes in consciousness such as "do your best" and "let us do your best" for your "work" promoted the improvement of SEL.Wallhead and Ntoumanis (2004) used in physical education with Sport Education Model, and Dyson (2001) used Cooperative Learning in physical education for their studies.Our results agree with these researches (Dyson, 2001;Wallhead & Ntoumanis, 2004) that the physical education class could be expected to enhance students' independence, perceived competence, and cooperation through getting the skills in individual sports and team play.These skills were included in LS.Therefore, the pedagogies used in PEP integrated with LS are crucial on how to develop life skills for the students.

Limitations and future issues
First, the LS levels improved significantly after participating in the PEP in this research.It is supposed that the improvement of LS levels may also occur through other classes, extracurricular activities, and various factors in daily life.It must keep in mind that physical education class is just a factor.In the future, to clarify the mechanism of the influence of this PEP on the acquisition of LS will investigate additional variables such as lectures other than university physical education classes, extra-curricular activities, social contribution activities, and part-time jobs.Therefore, it is necessary to conduct experimental research considering factors other than university physical education classes.Furthermore, it is considered that LS may be increased in overcoming exercises (consciousness changes) that are not good at through physical education classes.Gradually, from the less strenuous task of dealing with others and the difficulty of the event to the task of correcting oneself in the relationship with others, and sometimes the more difficult task with conflict.Therefore, it is essential to set up physical education lesson materials organically connected.

Conclusion
This study aimed to construct a versatile PEP and assess the effectiveness of the PEP in promoting LS.Our results provide support for the effectiveness of the PEP.First, the PEP constructed in this study was validated as effective for facilitating the acquisition of life skills among new university students through physical education classes.Second, it is believed that team sports (Basketball) have a greater impact on LS acquisition compared to individual sports.Thirdly, since there is little empirical research on the field of life skills coaching, and thus represents a new direction for the field.We hope that future research will take advantage of the PEP through other sports.

Figure 1 .
Figure 1.Relationship between PEP, acquisition of life skills, and sports experience.

Figure 2 .
Figure 2. Foundation of physical education.

Figure 3 .
Figure 3. HIIT in PEP: combined with step aerobics and breathing exercises.
(e.x.(1)Take the stairs instead of the lift.(2)Get off public transport one stop earlier and walk to work or home.(3)Walk (don't drive) to the local shops.)Stand tall and maintain good posture: Stand upright with head facing forward and shoulders relaxed.

:
Individual basic skills training4) (Dribbling including changing hands, speed, and direction) LS Coaching: Stress management 1 (practice to arouse a positive image).Two-Ball Dribbling: Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and dribble two basketballs simultaneously.Practice dribbling them in different patterns, alternating hands, Individual basic skills training5) (Offensive and Defensive setting).LS Coaching: Stress management 2 (practice of breathing method).①Offensive Setting: Pick and Roll: Players practice setting screens and rolling to the basket to create scoring opportunities.Spacing and Movement: Players work on maintaining proper spacing on the court and executing cuts and movements to create open passing lanes and scoring opportunities.Shooting Drills: Players practice shooting from different positions on the court, focusing on footwork, balance, and shooting technique.Offensive Rebounding: Players work on positioning themselves for offensive rebounds and converting second-chance points.②Defensive Setting:

Figure
Figure 5. Interaction between semester and sports item for participation in PEP (a) the average INT skills scores; (b) the average LEA skills scores; (c) the average PLA skills scores; (d) the average EMP skills scores; (e) the average KNO skills scores; (f) the average SEL skills scores; (g) the average POS skills scores; (h) the average INT-MAN skills scores for the three sports in pre-/post-semester.

Table 2 . Syllabus of Tai Chi Course ■ Course Schedule Information (Basic Syllabus Information)
Basic movement 14) Strike Opponent's Ears with Both Fists.15) Turn and Kick with Left Heel.LS Coaching: Intermediate review (filling out the retrospective sheet).Basic movement 19) Needle at Sea Bottom.20) Flash the Arm.21) Turn, Deflect Downward, Parry and Punch.LS Coaching: Goal setting technique.
Session2: Basic movement 1) Commencing form.2) Part of the Wild Horse's Mane on Both Side.3) White Crane Spreads its Wings.LS Coaching: Self-introduction in class.Session4: Basic movement 6) Repulse Monkey.LS Coaching: Goal setting (set short-term and long-term goals).Session5: Basic movement 7) Grasp the Bird's Tail.8)Grasp the Bird's Tail.LS Coaching: Stress management 1 (practice to arouse a positive image).Session8:

Table 4 . Syllabus of Basketball course ■ Course Schedule Information (Basic Syllabus Information)
SemesterSpring and Summer Term (1st grade)