<![CDATA[Traditional games may provide meaningful learning experiences that support students’ attentional engagement and self-regulation during physical education. This study examined the effects of traditional games on focus and self-control among elementary school students. A quasi-experimental pretest–post-test control-group design was employed at SD Negeri 1 Grogol, Diwek District, Jombang Regency, Indonesia. The participants were 60 fifth-grade students, comprising 30 students in the experimental group and 30 in the control group. The experimental group participated in physical education lessons incorporating four traditional games: gobak sodor, engklek, boy-boyan, and bentengan, whereas the control group received regular physical education instruction. Focus was assessed using a 20-item questionnaire, while self-control was measured using a 32-item questionnaire, both employing a four-point Likert scale. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, paired-samples t-tests, and independent-samples t-tests comparing change scores. Both groups demonstrated significant improvements in focus and self-control (all p < 0.001). However, the between-group difference in focus improvement was not statistically significant (mean difference = 0.80, p = 0.242, Cohen’s d = 0.305). In contrast, the experimental group demonstrated significantly greater improvement in self-control than the control group (mean difference = 1.47, p = 0.018, Cohen’s d = 0.629), indicating a moderate effect. These findings suggest that integrating traditional games into physical education may offer additional benefits for developing self-control, although its added effect on focus was not statistically demonstrated. Traditional games may therefore serve as a pedagogically relevant approach to supporting students’ behavioral and emotional regulation in elementary physical education.]]>
