Development and Validation of the Physical Education Classroom Environment Scale: A Comprehensive Assessment Tool

<i>Objec</i><i>tives: </i>The physical education classroom environment significantly influences students' learning outcomes, yet a comprehensive assessment tool is lacking. This study aimed to develop and validate the Physical Education Classroom Environment Scale (PECES) for evaluating multiple dimensions of the physical education classroom environment.<i>Methods:</i> Scale development involved three sequential studies. Study 1 (n = 10) generated initial items through literature review and expert interviews, followed by content validity analysis. Study 2 (n = 508) examined the dimensional structure using exploratory factor analysis (EFA, n = 386) and confirmatory factor analysis. Study 3 (n = 705) validated criterion validity and tested a multiple-parallel mediation model.<i>Results:</i> The final scale comprised five dimensions: teacher support, student input, classroom environment, course atmosphere, and physical environment, showing satisfactory model fit (χ2/df=2.517, RMSEA = 0.052) and high internal consistency. Study 3 confirmed criterion validity and revealed that teacher support（β = 0.195, 95% CI [0.113, 0.267]） influenced student input both directly and indirectly through classroom climate（β = 0.067, 95% CI [0.033, 0.103]）, course organization（β = 0.104, 95% CI [0.067, 0.142]）, and physical environment（β = 0.072, 95% CI [0.042,0.105]）.<i>Conclusions:</i> The PECES demonstrates robust psychometric properties and provides a reliable tool for assessing the physical education classroom environment, contributing to the evaluation and improvement of physical education teaching practices.<b>assessment tool; reliability and validity tests; learning engagement</b>