Modified Small-Sided Games to Strengthen Student Engagement in Football Dribbling Lessons: A Two-Cycle Classroom Action Study

Abstract

Low participation during technique-centred physical education can restrict students’ opportunities to practise football dribbling in meaningful situations. This classroom action study examined whether progressively modified small-sided games could improve Grade VII students’ learning engagement during dribbling lessons. Twenty-eight students at SMP Negeri 58 Halmahera Selatan, Indonesia, participated in a pre-action phase and two action cycles following planning, action, observation, and reflection. Cycle I used Dribbling Zig-Zag Race and Dribbling Challenge Zone; Cycle II increased contextual complexity through one-versus-one defender tasks and modified mini-soccer. Four observable indicators—active participation, cooperation, enthusiasm, and discipline—were rated on a four-point scale. Mean total engagement increased from 8.00 (50.0%) at baseline to 10.43 (65.2%) in Cycle I and 13.04 (81.5%) in Cycle II. A Friedman test confirmed differences across phases, χ²(2) = 45.33, p < .001, Kendall’s W = .809. All four indicators improved, with the largest gain in enthusiasm (35.00 percentage points). The findings indicate that sequencing simplified drills toward opponent-based and small-sided play can produce substantial behavioural engagement gains in a resource-constrained school context. Because the study lacked a comparison group and did not provide complete student-level dribbling performance scores, conclusions are restricted to observed engagement rather than causal skill improvement.