Student perspectives on effective teaching in online and hybrid physical education

Abstract

Online and hybrid physical education (OPE) has become a recurring instructional reality in many schools and universities, yet little is known about how students experience teaching quality in these settings. This study investigates how tertiary students characterize effective and ineffective teaching in OPE within a hybrid learning context, offering student-centered qualitative insights that remain underrepresented in the literature. Structured virtual interviews were conducted with 69 students from a State University in Pampanga, Philippines, all of whom had completed at least one semester of online or hybrid physical education (PE). Data were analyzed using inductive thematic analysis with independent dual coding and third-coder adjudication. Two dimensions consistently shaped student accounts across all thematic categories: instructional clarity and affective teacher presence. Students treated clear, step-by-step instruction not merely as a preference but as a basic condition for participation, while unclear directions were the most frequently cited undesirable trait. Similarly, teacher encouragement, energetic delivery, and supportive behavior were closely linked to motivation and engagement, while strictness and pressure were associated with withdrawal. Contextual barriers such as limited equipment, unstable internet, and emotional fatigue were also reported, though they appeared less often than teacher-related factors across student responses. These findings suggest that instructional clarity and affective teacher presence are the two central conditions for sustaining student participation in hybrid PE environments, and that OPE teachers who prioritize these qualities are better positioned to maintain engagement even in resource-constrained settings.