School-based Physical Education in Bhutan for Physical Fitness and Socio-emotional Competencies in Adolescents

Summary

Despite global evidence supporting the benefits of PE in promoting socio-emotional skills, much of the research has focused on countries where PE is a mandatory part of the curriculum. In contrast, Bhutan's Health and Physical Education (HPE) program is limited, with many schools lacking a structured curriculum and dedicated PE educators. This project aims to evaluate the impact of an enhanced school-based physical education (PE) program on physical fitness, socio-emotional competencies, and well-being among upper primary school students in Bhutan.

This project is a methodological collaboration between the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois in Switzerland and the Paro College of Education and Royal Thimphu College in Bhutan.

Two public urban schools will be randomly assigned to either the "enhanced physical education program" or "standard curriculum" condition. An additional "control school", with no physical education, will be included in the study but not in the randomisation process for feasibility concern. A total of 360 young adolescents (120 per school, aged 12-14) will be enrolled. Baseline data on individual characteristics such as age, gender, and socio-economic status will be collected through self- and parent-reported questionnaires. Primary outcome measures include physical fitness assessed by PE teachers using various metrics, as well as socio-emotional competencies and well-being evaluated through standardised self- and parent-reported questionnaires. Data will be analysed using an intention-to-treat approach.

This project offers a unique opportunity to explore the international impact of PE within Bhutan's socio-cultural context.

Conditions

• School-based Intervention

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Enhanced physical education

The "Enhanced physical education" is based on the Health and Physical Education (HPE) Curriculum Framework developed by the Bhutanese Ministry of Education and well-document in the 2022 edition, www.education.gov.bt. The enhanced PE group will follow closely the description of the HPE curriculum and receive two 90-minute sessions weekly for 5 months. According to the HEP curriculum, the enhanced PE program incorporate both PE with socio-emotional competencies, such as self-regulation, self- and social-awareness, empathy-building exercises, and cooperation activities.

BEHAVIORAL

HPE Standard curriculum

Health and physical education (HPE) standard curriculum includes roughly one hour per week of general physical education, typically involving activities like football and basketball.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Paro College of Education

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• Royal Thimphu College

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Kezang Sherab, PhD · Paro College of Education & Royal Thimphu College, Bhutan

• Vanessa Siffredi, PhD · Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois (CHUV), Switzerland

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

HEALTH_SERVICES_RESEARCH

Masking

NONE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

12 Years

Max Age

14 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2025-02-10

Primary Completion

2025-07-31

Completion

2025-08-31

Countries

• Bhutan

Study Locations