Learning and Development in Digitally Mediated Physical Education: A Bibliometric and Thematic Evolution Analysis of Online, Open Distance, and Technology-Enhanced Learning (2015–2025)

Objectives. As physical education increasingly intersects with digital learning, artificial intelligence, and flexible modes of delivery, the field faces a critical question of how movement-based education can remain pedagogically meaningful in technologically mediated environments. This study mapped the global scholarship on digitally mediated physical education from 2015 to 2025, focusing on online, open-distance, and technology-enhanced learning. Materials and Methods. Using a bibliometric design with thematic evolution analysis, 1,358 Scopus-indexed documents were examined using Bibliometrix/Biblioshiny and VOSviewer. Results. The results revealed a rapidly expanding and interdisciplinary field shaped by the convergence of pedagogy, educational technology, artificial intelligence, public health, and computational learning systems. Conceptually, the literature was anchored in artificial intelligence, COVID-19, online learning, higher education, blended learning, distance learning, virtual reality, physical activity, digital technology, and educational technology. Bibliographic coupling and co-citation analyses showed that the field is sustained by both core pedagogical traditions and emerging technological knowledge bases. Thematic evolution indicated a progression from early ICT and blended learning applications toward pandemic-responsive online physical education and, more recently, AI-supported, immersive, teacher-oriented, and learner-centered digital pedagogies. Conclusions. The study positions digitally mediated physical education as a developing learning-and-development field requiring stronger pedagogical, ethical, and theoretical grounding.