Student-Centered Pedagogies in Taekwondo: Redesigning Learning Models in Higher Education

Background & objective: Traditional instructor-centered approaches in martial arts education often limit student autonomy and critical thinking development. This study examined the implementation of student-centered pedagogies in Taekwondo instruction within higher education settings. Materials & Methods: A quasi-experimental study was conducted over 14 weeks, comprising 28 instructional sessions. Sixty-four students were initially recruited. Three participants met the predefined exclusion criteria and were excluded from the final study sample, leaving 61 participants for analysis: 30 in the student-centered group and 31 in the traditional instruction group. The intervention incorporated autonomy support, inquiry-based learning, cooperative learning, self-assessment, and differentiated instruction. The comparison group received traditional instructor-centered instruction. Outcomes were assessed using measures of technical proficiency, tactical knowledge, self-efficacy, autonomous learning behavior, attendance, and engagement. Between-group outcomes were examined using analyses that accounted for baseline scores. Results: The student-centered group demonstrated significantly greater improvements in technical proficiency (d=1.24, p