Legal, managerial, educational, and technical factors of liability for school sports accidents among physical education teachers in Iran
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15561/physcult.2026.0101Keywords:
physical education teachers, legal liability, school sports accidents, legal disclaimerAbstract
Background and Study Aim. Physical education teachers are legally responsible for ensuring the physical, psychological, and personal safety of students during school sports activities. Failure to fulfill these duties may result in civil or criminal liability. Despite the growing legal awareness among parents and students, many physical education teachers have limited knowledge of legal mechanisms that may reduce or clarify their responsibility in the event of sports accidents. The aim of this study was to examine the legal, managerial, educational, and technical factors related to the disclaimer of responsibility of physical education teachers during school sports activities in Iran.
Materials and Methods. A descriptive-analytical research design was applied. The study sample consisted of 225 physical education teachers (98 females and 127 males) selected through convenience sampling. Data were collected using a researcher-developed questionnaire based on a five-point Likert scale. The questionnaire included four dimensions: technical, managerial, educational, and legal factors. Data analysis was conducted using SPSS and LISREL software. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were performed to assess construct validity, while reliability was confirmed using Cronbach’s alpha coefficient (α = 0.87). The Friedman test was applied to rank the priority of the identified factors.
Results. Factor analysis identified four distinct factors explaining an acceptable proportion of total variance. Confirmatory factor analysis demonstrated a good model fit (CFI, GFI, AGFI > 0.90; RMSEA < 0.08). Among all dimensions, legal factors received the highest priority. Specifically, institutional support from education departments, preparation of standard consent forms, and the use of legal acquittal documents were ranked as the most important measures for reducing teachers’ legal responsibility. Significant differences were observed in the perceived importance of legal factors among participants.
Conclusions. Legal considerations play a central role in managing responsibility for school sports accidents. Enhancing legal awareness, providing institutional support, and implementing standardized legal documents may reduce the legal risks faced by physical education teachers. These measures can also improve teachers’ professional confidence and contribute to safer school sports environments.
References
Graha AS, Ridwan A, Nurhadi FI, Perkasa BT, Yachsie WB, Cakrawati TD. Injuries in the context of physical education: A systematic literature review. Fizjoterapia Polska, 2024;24(2): 318–325. https://doi.org/10.56984/8ZG5608Y6U
Stephenson SD, Kocan JW, Vinod AV, Kluczynski MA, Bisson LJ. A Comprehensive Summary of Systematic Reviews on Sports Injury Prevention Strategies. Orthopaedic Journal of Sports Medicine, 2021;9(10): 23259671211035776. https://doi.org/10.1177/23259671211035776
Bou-Karroum L, El-Jardali F, Jabbour M, Harb A, Fadlallah R, Hemadi N, et al. Preventing Unintentional Injuries in School-Aged Children: A Systematic Review. Pediatrics, 2022;149(Supplement 6): e2021053852J. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2021-053852J
Porsanger L. Risk and safety management in physical education: teachers’ knowledge. Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy, 2023;28(1): 16–28. https://doi.org/10.1080/17408989.2021.1934663
Meng X, Horrell A, McMillan P. ‘Health first, safety first’: an analysis of the legal system and professional ethics for curriculum enactment in China. Sport, Education and Society, 2025;30(1): 42–56. https://doi.org/10.1080/13573322.2023.2283069
Pepper Rachel. Understanding ‘duty of care’ – building teacher confidence in the ‘risk society’. International Journal of Law & Education, 2021; 24: 44–61.
Hosseinpour E, Vajdani M. Sports law and hours of physical education in schools. Journal of Physical Education. 2014;14(3):32–41. (In Persian).
Qeshmi Meymand A. The role of sports teachers in the effectiveness of physical education courses. Roshd Journal of Physical Education Education. 2019;(67):4–8. (In Persian).
Yargholi B, Harfti Sobhani M, Qasabzadeh J, Sivanizadeh F, Rahimi H. Teachers’ perceptions of the consequences of violence and ways to reduce it in schools: a phenomenological study. Quarterly Journal of Socio-Cultural Strategy. 2017;6(24):77–108. (In Persian).
Bonyan A, Kashif M. The difference between legal awareness and civic responsibilities of male and female sports coaches in sports events. Applied Research in Sports Management. 2014;4(8):79–90. (In Persian).
Mehdipour M. Guide to the prevention of child accidents in schools. Tehran: Scientific-Executive Committee for Educational and Health Promotion; 2017. p. 62. (In Persian).
Flook L, Goldberg SB, Pinger L, Bonus K, Davidson RJ. Mindfulness for Teachers: A Pilot Study to Assess Effects on Stress, Burnout, and Teaching Efficacy. Mind, Brain, and Education, 2013;7(3): 182–195. https://doi.org/10.1111/mbe.12026
Nagra V, Arora S. Occupational stress and health among teacher educators. International Journal of Advanced Research in Management and Social Sciences. 2015;2(8):1–13.
Ilkhanlar HO, Baluchi R, Niknejad MR. A study of physical education teachers’ perspectives on the causes and prevalence of injury in school sports. Sports Medicine. 2011;(4):91–101. (In Persian).
Emery CA. Risk factors for injury in high school competition. The American Journal of Sports Medicine. 2011;39:1634–1645.
Shabani Moghadam K. Applied sports law (with sample file and examples). 1st ed. Tehran: Bamdad Ketab Publications; 2016. p. 70. (In Persian).
Halbert J, MacPhail A. Curriculum dissemination and implementation in Ireland: principal and teacher insight. Irish Educational Studies, 2010;29(1): 25–40. https://doi.org/10.1080/03323310903522677
Caley M, Fowler T, Welch S, Wood A. Risk of developing tuberculosis from a school contact: retrospective cohort study, United Kingdom, 2009. Eurosurveillance, 2010;15(11). https://doi.org/10.2807/ese.15.11.19510-en
Williams B, Pickard L, Grandjean L, Pope S, Anderson SR, Morgan G, et al. The need to implement effective new entrant tuberculosis screening in children: evidence from school ‘outbreak’. Journal of Public Health, 2016; fdv186. https://doi.org/10.1093/pubmed/fdv186
Kiani MS, Nazari L. Investigating the theatrical methods of relieving the responsibility of physical education teachers in iranian schools during sports accidents. Italian Journal of Health Education, Sport and Inclusive Didactics, 2023;7(3). https://doi.org/10.32043/gsd.v7i3.966
Kiani MS, Nazari L. The need to establish a specialized sports law federation in Iran and its role in investigating sports crimes. Journal of Law and Legal Reform, 2022;3(3): 295–310. https://doi.org/10.15294/jllr.v3i3.56099
Kiani MS, Nazari L. Sports law challenges in the era of artificial intelligence: impacts and legal necessities for the protection of athletes’ rights. Knowledge Discovery and Intelligent Data Processing. 2025;4(15). (Persian). https://doi.org/10.30508/kdip.2025.513260.1139
Kiani MS, Nazari L, Shahbazpour L. Sports Law, Its Various Issue in Iran and the World. World Journal of Education and Humanities, 2022;4(3): p93. https://doi.org/10.22158/wjeh.v4n3p93
Babalola AJ, Alayode AM. Sources of Legal Liability among Physical Education Teachers. International Education Studies, 2012;5(3): p193. https://doi.org/10.5539/ies.v5n3p193
Yang Yang. Research on Risk Management of School Physical Education under the Background of Integration of Sports and Education. Frontiers in Educational Research, 2024;7(1). https://doi.org/10.25236/FER.2024.070104
Toopaebrahimi S. A Review of the Consequences of the Absence of Sports Law Education in University Curricula of Physical Education. Legal Studies in Digital Age, 2025;4(2): 1–10. https://doi.org/10.61838/kman.lsda.162
Ghorbani Asiabar DrM, Ghorbani Asiabar M, Ghorbani Asiabar A. Examining Legal Challenges of Modern Technologies in Sports Arbitration: A Case Study of VAR in Football. 2025. https://doi.org/10.14293/PR2199.001551.v1
Downloads
Received
Accepted
Published
How to Cite
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Mohammad Saeid Kiani
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Abstract views: 86 / PDF downloads: 1
