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This qualitative study, grounded in social constructivism and practice theory, examines how students in Guizhou Province construct meaning from physical exercise experiences related to emotional development and social adaptation. Semi-structured interviews with 25 participants are coded using grounded theory procedures, producing a sequential process model and confirming predominantly positive emotional experiences. The findings support emotionally reflective, socially integrative physical activity interventions and guide future mixed-methods and cross-cultural research.",{"@graph":69,"@context":126},[70,84,105],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":40,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/african-educational-research-journal-full-length-research-paper-making-sense-of-movement/591358/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/african-educational-research-journal-full-length-research-paper-making-sense-of-movement/591358.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"eBook King","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-30","2026-10-15",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":29},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",{"@type":106,"mainEntity":107},"FAQPage",[108,114,118,122],{"name":109,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":111},"What is the main purpose of the study?","Question",{"text":112,"@type":113},"To understand how university students in Guizhou construct subjective meaning from their physical exercise experiences, in relation to emotional development and social adaptation.","Answer",{"name":115,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":116},"How was the study conducted?",{"text":117,"@type":113},"The research used a qualitative approach with semi-structured interviews of 25 participants, and analyzed data with grounded theory coding (open, axial, and selective coding).",{"name":119,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":120},"What key outcomes does the study propose?",{"text":121,"@type":113},"It develops a sequential process model linking physical exercise (motivation, routine, embodiment) to emotional development (emotional intelligence, self-insight, resilience), and then to social adaptation (peer integration, communication, and social goal orientation).",{"name":123,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":124},"How do the sentiment analysis findings relate to emotional experiences?",{"text":125,"@type":113},"Sentiment analysis of student narratives confirms a predominance of positively valenced emotional experiences, such as confidence, belonging, and personal growth, associated with physical activity.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":128,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":130,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":132,"site_id":62},591358,1792193002,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":135},{"doc_id":132,"user_id":136,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":137,"doc_module":4,"category_id":39,"category_name":40,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":138,"file_id":139,"file_url":140,"file_type":141,"file_size":142,"view_count":29,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":143,"language":144,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":145,"faqs":146,"seo_title":147,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":148,"read_time":36,"preview_page_count":4},962088006270,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_085a072bc5b1113ac321206ff7593b45","African Educational Research Journal Vol. 13(3), pp. 258-273, July 2025 ISSN: 2354-2160  \nFull Length Research Paper  \nMaking sense of movement: A qualitative inquiry into university students’ physical exercise experiences, emotional development and social adaptation  \nHongtu Sun, Nutteera Phakdeephirot* and Songyu Jiang  \nRattanakosin International College of Creative Entrepreneurship, Rajamangala University of Technology Rattanakosin, Nakhon Pathom 73170, Thailand.  \nAccepted 25 June, 2025  \n\n| ABSTRACT\u003Cbr>In the context of increasing emotional vulnerability and social adjustment difficulties among university students in China, there is a growing need to understand the psychosocial mechanisms that support holistic student development. Physical exercise has been widely recognized not only for its physiological benefits but also for its potential role in fostering emotional resilience and social competence. This study adopts a qualitative research approach grounded in social constructivism and practice theory to explore how students construct subjective meaning from their physical exercise experiences in relation to emotional development and social adaptation. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with 25 participants from public universities in Guizhou Province, data were analyzed using grounded theory procedures involving open, axial, and selective coding. A conceptual process model was developed, outlining a sequential pathway from physical exercise (comprising motivation, routine, and embodiment) to emotional development (including emotional intelligence, self-insight, and resilience), leading to social adaptation (expressed through peer integration, communication, and social goal orientation), and culminating in subjective meaning construction. Complementing this, sentiment analysis of student narratives confirmed the predominance of positively valenced emotional experiences—such as confidence, belonging, and personal growth—associated with physical activity. These findings offer theoretical insights by reframing emotional development as a multidimensional mediating process and by redefining social adaptation as an interpretive rather than purely behavioral outcome. Practically, the results suggest that emotionally reflective and socially integrative physical activity programs may serve as viable interventions for student development in higher education. Future research may extend these findings through mixed-methods approaches or cross-cultural comparisons to further validate and enrich the model.\u003Cbr>Keywords: Physical exercise, emotional development, self-insight, social adaptation, grounded theory. |\n| --- |\n| *Corresponding author. E-mail: [nutteera.pha@rmutr.ac.th](nutteera.pha@rmutr.ac.th). |\n\nINTRODUCTION  \nAs China’s higher education system undergoes profound transformation, the psychological well-being and social adaptability of university students have become urgent concerns. The acceleration of societal pace, intensifying academic competition, shifting family structures, and heightened uncertainty in the graduate job market have contributed to increasingly complex adaptive challenges among youth (Mancaniello and Lavanga, 2024) . These  \npressures are especially acute during the university stage, where students transition from structured dependence to autonomous adulthood. Recent studies have reported a significant rise in emotional dysregulation, interpersonal detachment, and social anxiety among undergraduates, particularly in the post-pandemic context (Bortolan, 2023; Luo et al. , 2024) .  \nIn response to such systemic distress, physical exercise  \nSun et al. 259  \nhas gained traction across medical, psychological, and behavioral science domains as a non-pharmacological intervention with demonstrated efficacy in improving emotional regulation and fostering social competence. Within educational settings, national policy initiatives such as the Healthy China 2030 Plan and the Guidelines on Physical Education in","cbCaihg3sCnErz7M","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaihg3sCnErz7M","pdf",357006,16,"English","# Abstract\n# Introduction\n## Context: emotional vulnerability and adaptation challenges\n## Role of physical exercise in emotional and social development\n## Gaps in existing research\n## Study focus and research approach","[{\"question\":\"What is the main purpose of the study?\",\"answer\":\"To understand how university students in Guizhou construct subjective meaning from their physical exercise experiences, in relation to emotional development and social adaptation.\"},{\"question\":\"How was the study conducted?\",\"answer\":\"The research used a qualitative approach with semi-structured interviews of 25 participants, and analyzed data with grounded theory coding (open, axial, and selective coding).\"},{\"question\":\"What key outcomes does the study propose?\",\"answer\":\"It develops a sequential process model linking physical exercise (motivation, routine, embodiment) to emotional development (emotional intelligence, self-insight, resilience), and then to social adaptation (peer integration, communication, and social goal orientation).\"},{\"question\":\"How do the sentiment analysis findings relate to emotional experiences?\",\"answer\":\"Sentiment analysis of student narratives confirms a predominance of positively valenced emotional experiences, such as confidence, belonging, and personal growth, associated with physical activity.\"}]","African Educational Research Journal - Full Length Research Paper - Making sense of movement | PDF",1792071672]