Bibliometric Analysis of Teacher Competency and Pedagogical Models for Digital Technology Integration in School Physical Education

Abstract

This bibliometric analysis maps research on teacher competency and pedagogical models for digital technology integration in school physical education (PE), with the aim of clarifying growth patterns, knowledge structures, and thematic priorities. A Scopus search was executed using a structured TITLE-ABS-KEY strategy and reported through a PRISMA-aligned screening flow. The search retrieved 708 records, followed by staged screening and eligibility checks that yielded a final dataset of 79 documents. The dataset spans 2012 to February 4, 2026 and shows sustained scholarly activity across 15 citable years, involving 321 contributing authors. Impact indicators show 912 total citations, 11.54 citations per paper, 65.14 citations per year, and a strong h-core concentration of 863 citations, alongside an h-index of 18, g-index of 27, and m-index of 1.200. To reveal the conceptual structure, keyword co-occurrence mapping identified six clusters linking teacher training and professional development with technology integration, teacher perceptions and self-efficacy, assessment and school implementation, and movement-based PE priorities including meaningful PE, with COVID-19 appearing as a marker of accelerated discourse during remote teaching periods. These findings position the field as an intersection of competency frameworks and pedagogical model scholarship, with clear pathways for future research focused on stronger alignment between digital tool use, pedagogical model fidelity, and evidence of learning outcomes in movement-based contexts.