ECSS Paris 2023: OP-SH20
In China’s youth football, many young players withdraw from organised training pathways at around age 12, a phenomenon known as “retirement at age 12” (Yang, 2024) . It primarily involves ending structured football training around age 12 and shifting towards academic pursuits. However, around age 12 usually marks a key milestone when players enter elite training system (Ford et al., 2012), while Chinese youth football shows the opposite trend. Therefore, “retirement at 12” cannot be explained merely by micro-level studies, such as training models and individual ability differences (Ford et al., 2009; Ford et al., 2012; Unnithan et al., 2012). It requires a broader understanding in terms of social institutions and local cultural contexts. On this basis, the paper integrates Historical Institutionalism (HI) (Hall & Taylor, 1996) and the Multiple Streams Framework (MSF) (Kingdon, 1984: 93), explaining both the historical roots of the phenomenon and the contemporary policy responses. From an HI perspective, youth football development in China is shaped by a long-standing separation between the sport system and the education system, which is described as “sport–education separation”. China’s elite sport system, organised under the whole-nation system (juguo tizhi), is strongly performance-driven and emphasises early specialisation and selection. （Zheng et al, 2018）The education system, by contrast, is organised around standardised examinations and regards academic achievement as the primary means of allocating opportunities and achieving upward mobility (Deng, 2024). In an exam-centred institutional and cultural environment that prioritises academic success, youth football and physical education have long been marginalised, reinforced by valuing study over sport, mind–body dualism that devalues embodied practice, and a utilitarian orientation（Peng et al., 2025). Around age 12, finishing primary school marks the start of academic streaming, while football training becomes more specialised. This overlap further strengthens the path dependence of “sport–education separation”. As the limitations of performance-oriented governance in both the sport and education sectors have become increasingly evident, “retirement at age 12” has increasingly been treated as a public issue requiring policy response. The paper adapts the MSF to China’s political system and highlights the politics stream (Wang & Wang, 2025; Wu & Wu, 2025), to explain why and how the path dependence of “sport–education separation” can be broken through. Under high-level political impetus, heightened public attention and policy instruments centred on school football, policy entrepreneurs facilitate coupling across the problem, policy, and politics streams, placing “sport–education integration” on the policy agenda to address early attrition in China’s youth football talent development (State Council of the PRC, 2024).
Read CV wei WANGECSS Paris 2023: OP-SH20
Introduction After-School physical activity services in China aim to promote youth development. While current research has mainly focused on urban areas, its implementation in schools serving left-behind children (LBCs) in rural regions faces significant structural resistance. While existing research acknowledges resource disparities, few studies have holistically examined the interplay among material, cultural, and interpersonal barriers that impede these programs' developmental function from a multi-stakeholder perspective. This study explores the multifaceted barriers to implementing services in schools serving rural LBCs, focusing on interactions among left-behind children, headmasters, and after-school PE teachers. Method Guided by critical realism, this qualitative study employed semi-structured interviews with 60 participants (49 LBCs aged 9-12, 5 headmasters, and 6 after-school PE teachers) recruited from rural LBCs’ schools in China. Focus groups were conducted with children, and individual interviews were conducted with teachers. Data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis, following Braun and Clarke's six-phase approach, with collaborative theme development across a multidisciplinary research team. Results Three core themes were identified. First, "Some kids are just naturally pushy" captured a hostile peer environment characterised by physical aggression, social exclusion, verbal abuse, and shaming. Second, "That PE teacher is properly fierce" highlights an authoritarian management style driven by teacher burnout. This includes physical punishment, dismissive attitudes, high-pressure behavioural controls, and portraying teachers as figures of fear. Third, "It's imperative tasks, and the students just aren't interested" encompasses structural deficits, including mandatory participation, shortages of educational resources, academic pressure, safety concerns, and a lack of course diversity. Conclusions The findings highlight a worrying cycle in which a lack of resources leads to strict management, which in turn fosters peer hostility. This study reveals a key contradiction: administrative requirements for participation often conflict with the deep-rooted value placed on academic success. Additionally, shortages of education resources and teacher burnout tend to normalise punitive approaches that obstruct the service's potential for growth. To truly restore services’ developmental role, research recommends prioritising improving the interpersonal environment, not just filling resource gaps. This will help break down the culture of fear and coercion, setting the stage for meaningful systemic reforms. These insights can guide efforts to better support the overall physical and mental well-being of vulnerable rural children who are left behind.
Read CV Liu FengmiaoECSS Paris 2023: OP-SH20
Introduction: Scientific evidence has shown that exergames can enhance children's motivation and engagement, making them innovative and effective tools for promoting health and increasing physical activity levels in paediatric populations (1). The aim of this study is to assess the impact of a six-week exergame-based program on Gross Motor Coordination (GMC) in primary schoolers. Methods: Thirty-eight children were randomly assigned to an intervention group (IG; n = 19; 8 girls; 7.73±0.45 years; 17.03±3.20 kg/m2), who executed an exergame-based program during curricular hours for six weeks, and a control group (CG; n = 19; 10 girls; 7.42±0.50 years; 17.78±2.83 kg/m2), who did not perform any physical activity. IG performed two 50-minute (min) sessions for week over six weeks. Each session included a 10-min warm up, a 10-min cool-down, and a 30-min central phase with motor skill sequences (running, jumping, maintaining balance and squatting) simulated by the exergame. This was structured across three progressive intensity levels (low, medium, high). Before the intervention, all children completed the Physical Activity Questionnaire for Children (PAQ-C) to evaluate their physical activity level. GMC was examined with KTK3+ test battery in both groups before (T0) and after (T2) a six-week period. Movement quality was assessed at three time points as T0, T1 (after 3 weeks) and T2 through a video analysis by two independent evaluators using an observation grid, based on 5-point Likert scale and specific criteria. Repeated measures ANOVA with age as a covariate was used to assess differences in jumping sideways (JS), moving sideways (MS), walking backwards (WB), hand-eye coordination (EHC), and motor quotient (MQ) within/between groups. The differences in motor skill qualitative items among T0, T1 and T2 in IG were analyzed with Friedman’s repeated measures ANOVA. The significance was set at p<.05. Results: IG and CG were physically inactive at baseline, with no difference between groups (p=.751). Significantly higher scores of JS, MS and MQ were observed in IG than CG after the intervention (p<.001). IG showed a significant increase in JS, MS, WB and MQ after the intervention (p<.05), unlike CG. Movement quality analysis showed significant and progressive enhancements in fluidity, single-leg balance, endurance, running, vertical jump and squat abilities of IG, especially between T0 and T2. Conclusion: Our exergame-based program appears to be effective in improving GMC performance and movement quality highlighting the potential of this tool as an impactful teaching strategy within school setting. These results support the integration of exergames into physical education to promote an active lifestyle in childhood. (1) Wang M, Xu J, Zhou X, Li X, Zheng Y. Effectiveness of Gamification Interventions to Improve Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior in Children and Adolescents: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. JMIR Serious Games 2025;13:e68151
Read CV Roberta CottoneECSS Paris 2023: OP-SH20