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This research presents the systematic literature review process carried out as a basis for designing a mobile application for assessing the physical condition of secondary school students in Panama. The main purpose was to analyze the state of the art in school physical fitness and the use of mobile technologies in physical education teaching, with the aim of identifying approaches, instruments, and limitations that would guide the development of an innovative tool tailored to the current needs of the education system. To this end, a qualitative approach was adopted that applied recognized systematic review methodologies, following the guidelines of authors such as Linares-Espinós and Gómez-Luna, based on searches in international academic databases such as PubMed, Scopus, Dialnet, Redalyc, Scielo, ResearchGate, and Google Scholar. Inclusion criteria were defined to cover publications between 2015 and 2025, in Spanish and English, with full access and relevance in school contexts, which allowed for the filtering of an initial total of 81 documents and the final selection of 45 that offered the greatest relevance and quality for analysis.
The results show that, although there is a growing interest in the use of mobile applications in school Physical Education, there are still limited developments validated specifically for students at this level. The predominance of traditional field tests, such as the Course Navette test, is highlighted, as is the need to adapt assessment instruments to factors such as age, gender, and digital skills. Furthermore, the importance of incorporating pedagogical elements such as gamification and immediate feedback to increase student motivation and participation is emphasized.
In conclusion, the review provides a solid basis for the design of a mobile application that integrates standardized tests contextualized to the Panamanian school environment, with technological accessibility, automated report generation, and pedagogical strategies that strengthen the teacher's role and promote healthy lifestyle habits in students, thus contributing to reducing the gap between technological innovation and educational practice.
