تحلیل عوامل مؤثر بر پیاده‌سازی تفکر سیستمی با رویکرد ارتقای عملکرد رهبران سازمان‌های آموزشی- ورزشی (مطالعه‌ی موردی: معاونت تربیت‌بدنی و سلامت وزارت آموزش‌وپرورش)

This study aimed to identify the factors affecting the implementation of systems thinking and to assess its impact on managers' performance in the Physical Education and Health Department of the Ministry of Education. The research followed an applied, exploratory mixed-methods design. In the qualitative phase, semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with 25 experts, specialists, and university professors selected through purposive sampling. The data were analyzed using thematic analysis. The quantitative participants included all 236 health and physical education experts from provincial education departments across the country. Due to the limited population size, a complete census sampling method was used. Finally, 147 valid questionnaires were retained for analysis. The instruments included a researcher-developed questionnaire and a standard leadership performance questionnaire. Quantitative data were analyzed using the Friedman test and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) with the Partial Least Squares (PLS) approach. The qualitative findings revealed four overarching themes influencing systems thinking implementation: "individual-personality," "organizational," "contextual (environmental)," and "extra-organizational" factors. Among these, organizational factors ranked highest (3.73), highlighting the critical role of structure, culture, training, and institutional support. In the quantitative phase, the structural model confirmed a positive, direct, and significant effect of systems thinking on managerial performance, with a path coefficient of 0.717 and a t-value of 2.843. Overall, the results indicate that successful implementation of systems thinking in this department requires a contingency-based, multi-level approach. Intervention priorities should begin with reforming the organizational infrastructure and culture, followed by individual capacity-building for managers, to ensure effective alignment across all levels.