The Evidence-Based Pathway for Establishing a First-Level Discipline in the Field of Physical Education and Sport Science under the Class of Interdisciplinary Studies

The establishment of a first-level discipline in the field of physical education and sport science under the class of Interdisciplinary Studies is essentially a response to the crisis and self-renewal demand in the establishment of the discipline of physical education and sport science with Chinese characteristics. Currently, the discipline of physical education and sport science is confronted with multiple challenges, such as a crisis in knowledge production, organizational structural barriers, and predicaments in cognitive value. To fundamentally explore the in-depth self-awareness of the shift of physical education and sport science from disciplinarization to establishing a discipline with Chinese characteristics, it is imperative to expedite the establishment of a first-level discipline in the field of physical education and sport science under the class of Interdisciplinary Studies while adhering to the right path and seeking innovation. It is essential to be guided by meeting the social demands or addressing significant practical issues in physical education and sport science, and to center on breakthroughs in research levels, the integration of research methods and tools, and the consolidation of research relations. Based on the internal logic of knowledge development and the external constraints of social institutions, it is necessary to clarify what is feasible, what is obligated, and what is required in the disciplinary cross-fertilization of the discipline of physical education and sport science with external disciplines. Based on this, to promote the generation of a first-level discipline in the field of physical education and sport science under the class of Interdisciplinary Studies, it is urgent to shift from a discipline-centered model to a problem-centered one and strengthen the connection between research and demands. Therefore, it is requisite to excavate the foci of the in-depth integration of the discipline of physical education and sport science with multi-disciplinary knowledge and pay heed to the inherent correlation between research in sports science and social demands; reconstitute the knowledge community based on common research objectives, augment the collective deliberation and defense of disciplinary organizations; intensify the synergetic symbiosis of substantive knowledge growth and institutional supply, and actualize the organic convergence of interdisciplinary studies.