Digital Intelligence Empowerment and Embodied Practice: The Contemporary Characteristics and Generative Logic of Physical Education Teachers Upholding the Spirit of Educators

Abstract

Against the backdrop of educational digital transformation, physical education faces dual challenges: the potential for technological application to cause “physical absence” and the risk of instrumental rationality obscuring the original purpose of education. Existing research has insufficiently addressed the professional specificity of physical education teachers' pedagogical spirit, particularly its embodied characteristics and evolutionary patterns in the digital-intelligent era, which remain unsystematically elucidated. This study constructs an analytical framework integrating digital-intelligent empowerment, embodied practice, and pedagogical spirit based on embodied cognition theory. It focuses on two core issues: the embodied characteristics of physical education teachers' pedagogical spirit in the digital-intelligent era and its developmental pathways. Findings reveal six defining characteristics of physical education teachers' pedagogical spirit in the digital age: First, technology-enhanced ideals and convictions, manifested as the deep integration of value recognition and mission commitment; second, moral integrity balanced by data support and humanistic care; third, data-driven educational wisdom, embodied in the organic combination of individualized instruction and reflective practice; Fourth, a diligent attitude empowered by technology, unified through lifelong learning and innovative spirit; Fifth, an expanded benevolent heart amplified by technology, achieving broader care coverage and enhanced precision; Sixth, a pursuit of promoting virtue extended by technology, manifested in the synergistic advancement of cultural heritage and collaborative education. The formation of these characteristics follows a progressive logic of “value recognition-embodied experience-reflective practice-ecological synergy,” establishing a dynamic unified generation mechanism driven by internal motivation and external support. The theoretical value of this study lies in transcending traditional dualistic thinking, driving the deep integration of the spirit of educators with embodied cognition theory. Its practical value manifests in constructing a four-dimensional support system comprising “curriculum framework + training model + evaluation standards + educational ecosystem.” This provides systematic theoretical guidance and practical pathways for building a high-caliber physical education teacher workforce in the new era, facilitating the evolution of physical education from skill training toward spiritual growth, and offering crucial support for building an education powerhouse.