**4. Discussion**

This study evaluated the impact of a pilot programme based on the sports education model on compulsory secondary education students' subjective well-being, trait emotional intelligence and social anxiety.

The preliminary results obtained in this study revealed significant improvement of a specific indicator of subjective well-being (NA) in the experimental group after the pilot programme. The experimental group did not show a significant improvement in health-related quality of life when compared with the control group. Our results are consistent with the findings reported in other studies [32], which did not confirm significant benefits for life satisfaction among adolescents following a sport education-based experience. Our findings also indicated that the programme showed a significant decrease in negative affect, improving an indicator of the affective component of subjective well-being (i.e., a decrease in negative emotions) [39,40]. These results partially verify Hypothesis 1, and highlight the importance of further research in this context.

This is consistent with the findings reported in other studies [32], as previous studies established a connection between physical activity and subjective well-being [73]. These findings are also consistent with research that argues that active, inclusive and effective teaching and learning processes applied within a quality physical education framework fosters a motivating school climate in affective and psychological terms [1,74]. Pedagogical and methodological aspects highlighted by this intervention pilot programme (e.g., cooperative learning, a feeling of membership to a team, positive interdependence and self-management or autonomy/use of responsibility roles) could have influenced these results. Furthermore, a motivating school context, enabled by the implementation of the sport education model [31], may also strengthen affective bonding in adolescents [12].

Significant improvement in trait emotional intelligence was observed in the experimental group after the programme, which confirmed Hypothesis 2. These results are also consistent with those reported by other authors [31]. The relationship between trait emotional intelligence and subjective well-being [38,45], as well as that between trait emotional intelligence and physical and psychological health [44], may trigger these improvements in adolescents. This indicates that good trait emotional intelligence promotes positive emotional states and a reduction of negative moods, thereby positively impacting well-being and health [45].

We found no significant improvement in students' social anxiety, meaning that we could not confirm Hypothesis 3. Although this is similar to the results obtained by di fferent authors for social relationships variables [23,24], our results contradicted the findings of other studies [25,26,28,30]. Further research on the e ffects of the sport education model is therefore necessary, especially given the theoretical specificity of social anxiety and its incidence in social relationships among adolescents. In addition, social anxiety can present opposing consequences. It can have positive e ffects on social relationships for some individuals, whereas it can have negative e ffects on others, characterised by anguish and social avoidance [65].

However, in our opinion this study has been very exhaustive in the evaluation methodology of the intervention program (including the Bonferroni corrections). In this sense, we have not found any study on the e ffectiveness of the sport education model that uses these statistical corrections. This fact could be influencing the comparison of our results with those obtained in other similar researches on the sport education model as a teaching model.

Despite these promising results, this study had some limitations. First, the sampling procedure was chosen for reasons of convenience and not by random procedures. However, allocating students to either the experimental or control group was performed randomly based on the class group to which they belonged. Second, it would be necessary to increase the sample size to minimise potential biases in the results and increase the generalisability. Third, the instruments used were self-reported, and the results might have been influenced by bias related to social desirability in adolescents. It would be necessary to use high-performance tests or hetero-evaluation to minimise such bias. Similarly, di fferences in the trait emotional intelligence pre-test scores between the experimental and control groups might have had an impact on our results. Finally, it is necessary to highlight the di fficulties encountered when following all of the recommendations for the implementation of the sport education model [19]. Similarly, it would be necessary to include session analysis procedure in order to evaluate if the main principles of the model were followed by the teachers [75].

Several aspects can be suggested regarding future lines of investigation, such as increasing the number of participants and diversifying their sociocultural background. It may also be worthwhile analysing the impact of the programme on other variables, such as academic performance and social and school adjustment. Similarly, to study the e ffects on depression with the use of biological correlates (HPA markers, cortisol immunitarian parameters, etc.). In addition, it would be interesting to conduct a follow-up evaluation to assess the sustainability of the e ffects of the programme.

This study presents innovative contributions at both theoretical and practical levels. The theoretical contribution is related to fact that the lack of physical activity can have a harmful e ffect on individual's health and is currently an important public health concern [76]. In this respect, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) [1] emphasised the importance of fostering and promoting active behaviours [6] in all contexts, especially at schools. Consequently, it should be noted that there is a positive connection between health and physical activity: sedentarism is a major risk factor for mortality, which gives rise to concern about the prevalence of sedentarism and socio-educative patterns of inactivity, especially in school contexts. At a practical level, our findings may help teaching sta ff in their tasks at school, as they provide a tool that may be used in teaching practice. In addition, the findings open up interesting fields of research in terms of the application of sport education, especially in terms of its impact on psychological variables.
