Smart wearables for school-based physical activity promotion: K-12 physical education teachers' continuance intention...

Smart wearable devices are increasingly used in physical education to support data-driven monitoring and feedback. However, limited research has examined why K-12 physical education teachers continue using these devices. This study investigates teachers' continuance intention by integrating the Task-Technology Fit model and the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology, with self-efficacy and perceived data privacy added as extended variables.

Using convenience sampling, 755 valid questionnaires were collected from K-12 physical education teachers, including 500 male teachers (66.22%) and 255 female teachers (33.78%). The model was tested using covariance-based structural equation modeling (CB-SEM), and fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) was used to identify configurations leading to high and low continuance intention.

The CB-SEM results showed that task characteristics significantly predicted task-technology fit (β = 0.916, p < 0.001), whereas technological characteristics did not. Task-technology fit was the strongest predictor of continuance intention (β = 0.504, p < 0.001), followed by performance expectancy, social influence, self-efficacy, and effort expectancy. Perceived data privacy had a significant negative effect. The fsQCA identified four configurations leading to high continuance intention and five leading to low continuance intention, indicating that continued use results from multiple combinations of task-related, technological, psychological, and social conditions.

This study advances understanding of teachers' technology adoption by integrating symmetric and asymmetric analytical approaches within a unified theoretical framework. The findings highlight the central role of task-technology fit and show that continuance intention is not determined by a single factor, but by multiple interacting conditions. These results provide practical implications for policymakers, school administrators, and technology developers seeking to support the sustainable integration of smart wearable devices into physical education and school-based physical activity promotion.