Relationship between school support and digital teaching adaptation among physical education teachers: the mediating roles of self-efficacy, digital teaching beliefs and teaching intention

Introduction With rapid advances in technology, school based physical education is undergoing a systemic reconstruction in its organizational structure and educational model, with growing focus on teachers' adaptability to dynamic digital teaching environments. The digital adaptation of physical education teachers remains insufficiently theorized, particularly given the contextualized, demonstration-based and interaction-intensive nature of PE instruction, highlighting the need for systematic investigation into its key determinants and developmental pathways. Grounded in the Social Cognitive Theory, this study assessed self-efficacy, digital teaching beliefs, and digital teaching intention to examine how school support is associated with teachers' digital teaching adaptation. Methods A total of 409 physical education teachers from multiple provinces in China participated in this study. Data were collected using standardized questionnaires measuring school support, self-efficacy, digital teaching beliefs, digital teaching intention, and digital teaching adaptation. The data were analyzed through correlation analysis and structural equation modeling. Results The results indicate that, first, school support significantly and positively predicts digital teaching adaptation among PE teachers. Second, self-efficacy partially mediates in the relationship between school support and teacher's digital teaching adaptation. Third, a chain mediation effect exists whereby self-efficacy and digital teaching intention sequentially mediate the relationship between school support and digital teaching adaptation. Similarly, digital teaching beliefs and digital teaching intention also form a chain mediation pathway. Furthermore, self-efficacy, digital teaching beliefs, and digital teaching intention jointly constitute a serial mediation mechanism linking school support to digital teaching adaptation. Discussion These findings clarify how school support is associated with teachers' digital teaching adaptation through key psychological factors in the context of educational digital transformation. The study provides empirical evidence and practical insights for the advancement of digital education reform.