**5. Conclusions**

The current study attempted to establish a systematic settlement of the "0th-period PE class" in Korea. The researchers mainly explored the subjective perspectives of parents regarding the morning exercise program of middle schools in Korea using the Q-methodology. The composition of the 42 Q-population resulted in selecting the final 25 Q-Samples. Among the participants, 20 students who participated in "0th-period PE class" for more than one year were selected as P-Sample. The Q-sorting process was performed by the P-Sample. Data collected by Q-sorting were analyzed using the P-Q method program (version 2.35) with centroid factor analysis and varimax rotation. The data analysis categorized the results into four types with a total explanatory variance of 63%. The four types are as follows: urgent legal and institutional settlement of the "0th-period PE class" (Type 1, *n* = 7); beachhead for a vibrant school life (Type 2, *n* = 4); enhancement of academic capability (Type 3, *n* = 4); and strengthening physical and mental health (Type 4, *n* = 4). Moreover, the consensus statements between each type were investigated in Q1 and Q2.

Based on published papers, the morning exercise program is more prevalent and widely spread in the United States, UK, and Japan. Moreover, a legitimate legal basis supports program implementation in some countries, which guarantees adolescents the right to education and a healthy lifestyle [52]. However, the Korean education community has yet to implement legal and institutional procedures to settle the "0th-period PE class". For this reason, continuous attention of the academic community should be followed [20]. The results of this study produced academic intellectual assets that could be systematically implemented in a "0th-period PE class" in Korea. Future directions include further studies to advance the "0th-period PE class", as well as better understand the roles and relationships among diverse stakeholders (policymakers, administrators, teachers, students, and parents).

**Author Contributions:** Conceptualization, W.J. and W.C.; methodology, W.J.; investigation, W.C.; data analysis, W.J. and W.C.; writing—original draft preparation, W.J.; writing—review and editing, W.C.; supervision, W.J. and W.C. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

**Funding:** This research received no external funding.

**Institutional Review Board Statement:** The study was conducted according to the guidelines of the Declaration of Helsinki. Ethical review and approval were waived because necessary permissions were obtained from the schools (to which this study participants belonged) affiliated with this study.

**Informed Consent Statement:** Informed consent was obtained from all subjects involved in the study.

**Data Availability Statement:** The data presented in this study are available upon request from the corresponding authors.

**Conflicts of Interest:** The authors declare no conflict of interest.
