Preventing Droup-out from Sport: Technological Innovation and Educational Strategies

Youth sport drop-out represents a crucial educational challenge in contemporary digital societies, often signaling broader forms of social and formative fragility. Rather than interpreting disengagement from sport as a simple interruption of physical activity, this study conceptualizes drop-out as a potential indicator of misalignment between young people’s developmental needs and the responses offered by educational and sport institutions. Drawing on exploratory research conducted among 88 university students enrolled in Motor Sciences programs, the study investigates perceptions of sport discontinuity and its possible connection with educational drop-out. Findings suggest that sport disengagement is perceived as a multidimensional phenomenon shaped by motivational, relational, structural and cultural factors, including performance pressure, loss of intrinsic motivation, institutional imbalance and competing digital environments. Within this framework, pedagogy assumes a strategic mediating role. Technological innovation is not approached as an end in itself, but as a potential educational device capable of supporting personalization, formative feedback and inclusion. The integration of digital monitoring systems and gamified strategies may contribute to enhancing self-efficacy and sustaining engagement, provided that such tools are embedded within coherent pedagogical designs. The study highlights the responsibility of universities in preparing future professionals capable of integrating embodied pedagogy and digital competence, fostering hybrid educational ecosystems that promote continuity, well-being and inclusive participation.