Abstract
<p>Abstract Background: Physical Education (PE) teachers are often first responders to school emergencies, yet emergency-response training in teacher education typically relies on passive, predictable instruction. Embedding unpredictable scenarios within a gamified motor game may offer a more engaging alternative, but little is known about how pre-service PE teachers experience such interventions or whether this experience correlates their intention to adopt them professionally. Purpose: To examine pre-service PE teachers' flow state, affect, perceived utility, and prior knowledge of seven emergency-response maneuvers following a single-session, emergency-embedded motor game, and to identify correlates of future pedagogical intention. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 192 university students completed validated Flow and PANAS scales and an ad hoc questionnaire immediately after the session. Multiple linear regression examined correlates of future intention, with ordinal regression and multiple imputation as sensitivity analyses. Results: Participants reported high perceived utility (M = 4.69, SD = 0.46) and future intention (M = 4.38, SD = 0.74). Flow state (β = 0.30, p = .023), female sex (β = 0.36, p = .003), and age (β = -0.05, p = .035) was associated with intention; affect did not. An extended model showed task evaluation and general utility beliefs explained substantially more variance (R² = 31.8% vs. 13.8%), attenuating flow's effect. Cardiac arrest/Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation and choking were the best-known and most valued maneuvers; non-medical hazards were less prioritized. Conclusion: Gamified, emergency-embedded motor games show high engagement and pedagogical intention among pre-service PE teachers, offering a promising, low-anxiety strategy for emergency-preparedness education in teacher training.Keywords: emergency preparedness; flow state; positive and negative affect; physical education; teacher training; game-based learning</p>