Author(s)

Jianhui Yang ¹, Jun Yang ²

Affiliation(s)

¹ Baoshan Vocational College, Baoshan, Yunnan, 678000, China
² Yunnan Vocational College of Transportation, Kunming, Yunnan, 650300, China

Corresponding Author

Jun Yang

ABSTRACT

School adaptation is a key factor in the overall social adaptation of migrant children in destination areas. From the strategic perspective of the integration of sports and education, this study explores the relationship between physical exercise and school adaptability among migrant children adaptability. Based on data from the China Education Panel Survey, this study comprehensively analyzes the influence of physical exercise on the school adaptability of migrant and non-migrant children, as well as its internal mediating mechanisms. The findings show that physical exercise has a significant and positive effect on the school adaptability of both migrant and non-migrant children, and its effect on migrant children is slightly stronger than that on non-migrant children. Self-efficacy plays a partial mediating role between physical exercise and school adaptability, and this mediating effect is stronger among non-migrant children than among migrant children. Based on the analytical results concerning the factors influencing migrant children's school adaptability, this study proposes pathways for improving their school adaptability from the perspectives of educational policy design for migrant children, optimization of school sports resources in destination areas, and the development of physical education teachers.

KEYWORDS

Physical Exercise; Migrant Children; School Adaptation; Self-Efficacy

CITE THIS PAPER

Jianhui Yang, Jun Yang. Research on the Relationship between Physical Exercise and School Adaptability among Migrant Children: The Mediating Role of Self-Efficacy. Applied & Educational Psychology (2026). Vol. 7, No.1, 131-143. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.23977/appep.2026.070115.

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