Traditional Games in Physical Education: Motor Skills, Fitness, Social Learning, and Cultural Sustainability

Abstract

Traditional games offer culturally meaningful movement experiences for physical education (PE), yet their use in school lessons remains inconsistent and their outcomes are assessed unevenly. This review synthesised recent evidence on traditional games in relation to fundamental movement skills, physical fitness, participation, social learning, and cultural sustainability. A structured narrative review examined 24 peer-reviewed journal articles published between 2020 and 2026 and one World Health Organization guideline. Searches conducted in October 2026 used English and Indonesian terms across journal publisher portals, DOI-linked records, PubMed, and scholarly web indexing. Evidence was organised thematically without calculating a pooled effect estimate. The reviewed studies generally associated traditional games with opportunities to practise hopping, running, balance, coordination, agility, and object control. Several school-based studies also reported increased participation, motivation, cooperation, and positive peer interaction. Games such as engklek, gobak sodor, bentengan, and bakiak connected movement practice with teamwork, decision-making, and local cultural knowledge. However, small samples, short intervention durations, single-group pretest–posttest designs, and inconsistent outcome measures limited conclusions about causal and long-term effects. The evidence supports the pedagogical potential of traditional games while indicating the need for more rigorous evaluation. Their integration into PE should involve purposeful learning tasks with explicit movement objectives, safe and inclusive rule modifications, observable assessment criteria, and reflection on cultural meaning. Future research should employ controlled and longitudinal designs, consistent motor-skill measures, and broader regional representation to strengthen the evidence base.