An important step to enhance the academic efficiency of students is increasing their physical activity. For this reason, it is necessary to see to what extent physical activity is related to the academic performance of the students and what might mediate this. A major objective of the study is to explore self-esteem and depression as mediators between physical activity and academic performance. On the basis of informed consent to participate in the study, 358 participants have been selected from Universities in Pakistan, and they were asked about their physical activity, depression during their study and self-esteem through self-report. Participants self-reported their self-esteem, level of depression and their physical activity through standardized measures; the Rosenberg Self-esteem scale (1965), the University stress scale (2016), and the short form of the International Physical Activity questionnaire (2003), respectively. Academic performance had been measured as the cumulative grade point average (CGPA) of the last two consecutive semesters. Self-esteem and depression were found to be significant mediators between physical activity and academic performance. The total effect of physical activity on academic performance was significant but smaller than the total indirect effect through mediators. Though total indirect effect is the combination of the effect of self-esteem and depression, but the larger contribution is of self-esteem which has been found to be the strongest mediator between physical activity and academic performance. The study has implications for future research, both in terms of testing the model and testing psychological constructs. Also, the study emphasizes that the importance of physical activity has to be kept in mind while designing a curriculum of an educational institution in order to foster sustainable development.

Sustainable development is promoted when the system of education provides the learners with an opportunity to equip themselves with moral values, skills, and competences that assist them in effecting personal and community positive changes. For this purpose, teachers play an important role as moral agents, and students consider the teacher a role model. Therefore, the understanding and beliefs of teachers regarding moral education play a pivotal role in grooming the personality of the learners. This comparative study aimed to assess the practices and beliefs of university teachers regarding moral education in China and Pakistan. A mixed-method approach was used and data analysis was performed by using an interactive model and ANOVA. Responses of twelve tertiary teachers were collected from Pakistan and China for qualitative analysis. Seven themes were constructed that categorized teachers' practice in the classroom and their beliefs regarding moral education. For quantitative analysis, 300 teachers' responses were collected using a validated questionnaire. The results showed that the majority of Pakistani teachers hold a conservative mindset. According to the Pakistani teachers' perspective, sovereignty of divine laws, loyalty to the constitution of the state, and a sense of serving society were the ultimate aims of moral education. Chinese teachers were promoting a political ideology that stressed collectivism in a socialist approach, with family and social values being most relevant. Not a single teacher reported using a theoretical or research-based approach while teaching in the class. In the light of the dearth of literature, this study has implications for future research in the field of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) and Islamic Studies in higher education, as it is a longitudinal study that provided insight into how teachers' beliefs and attitudes are shaped over time and from moral educational experiences.

The present study examined the role of self-enhancement and self-criticism in the relationship between physical activity and anxiety. A total of 305 students from Chinese universities, ranging in age from 18 to 36, completed a questionnaire package comprising a physical activity questionnaire, a self-enhancement strategies scale, a level of self-criticism scale, and a short form of state and trait anxiety scale. Findings highlighted that physical activity had a significant negative correlation with anxiety (r = −0.31, p < 0.01), a significant positive association with self-enhancement (r = 0.43, p < 0.01), and a significant negative relationship with self-criticism (r = −0.14, p < 0.05). It was also found that anxiety was significantly predicted by self-enhancement (−0.21, p < 0.01) and self-criticism (0.44, p < 0.01). Moreover, the mediation model supports the mediation of self-enhancement and self-criticism between physical activity and anxiety in university students. The findings suggest that interventions aimed at promoting physical activity and enhancing the self-system should be worthy strategies for reducing students’ anxiety.