Assessments Related to the Physical, Affective and Cognitive Domains of Physical Literacy Amongst Children Aged 7–11.9 Years: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Background Over the past decade, there has been increased interest amongst researchers, practitioners and policymakers in physical literacy for children and young people and the assessment of the concept within physical education (PE). This systematic review aimed to identify tools to assess physical literacy and its physical, cognitive and affective domains within children aged 7–11.9 years, and to examine the measurement properties, feasibility and elements of physical literacy assessed within each tool. Methods Six databases (EBSCO host platform, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, Scopus, Education Research Complete, SPORTDiscus) were searched up to 10th September 2020. Studies were included if they sampled children aged between 7 and 11.9 years, employed field-based assessments of physical literacy and/or related affective, physical or cognitive domains, reported measurement properties (quantitative) or theoretical development (qualitative), and were published in English in peer-reviewed journals. The methodological quality and measurement properties of studies and assessment tools were appraised using the COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement INstruments risk of bias checklist. The feasibility of each assessment was considered using a utility matrix and elements of physical literacy element were recorded using a descriptive checklist. Results The search strategy resulted in a total of 11467 initial results. After full text screening, 11 studies (3 assessments) related to explicit physical literacy assessments. Forty-four studies (32 assessments) were relevant to the affective domain, 31 studies (15 assessments) were relevant to the physical domain and 2 studies (2 assessments) were included within the cognitive domain. Methodological quality and reporting of measurement properties within the included studies were mixed. The Canadian Assessment of Physical Literacy-2 and the Passport For Life had evidence of acceptable measurement properties from studies of very good methodological quality and assessed a wide range of physical literacy elements. Feasibility results indicated that many tools would be suitable for a primary PE setting, though some require a level of expertise to administer and score that would require training. Conclusions This review has identified a number of existing assessments that could be useful in a physical literacy assessment approach within PE and provides further information to empower researchers and practitioners to make informed decisions when selecting the most appropriate assessment for their needs, purpose and context. The review indicates that researchers and tool developers should aim to improve the methodological quality and reporting of measurement properties of assessments to better inform the field. Trial registration PROSPERO: CRD42017062217

Physical Illiteracy and Obesity Barrier: How Physical Education Can Overpass Potential Adverse Effects? A Narrative Review

“…The affective and behavioral domains are two sides of the same coin and contain multiple elements influencing a child's physical literacy [21]. In accordance with what has been previously summarized in the literature, those elements range from motivation and self-confidence to perception of motor competence and physical activity engagement [22]. In the case of an unhealthy weight status (with low level of perception), the affective domain could be in crisis by interfering with a young individual's lifestyle changes (e.g., initiation and retention of physical activity) [23].…”

Portuguese Physical Literacy Assessment Questionnaire (PPLA-Q) for adolescents (15–18 years) from grades 10–12: development, content validation and pilot testing

“…Given evaluation’s essential role in PL implementation and practice [ 12 ] a few assessment instruments have been developed, under diverse conceptual models [ 18 , 26 , 27 ]. Of these, the most prolific research-wise have been the Canadian Assessment of Physical Literacy (CAPL) [ 28 , 29 ], and the Physical Literacy Assessment for Youth [ 30 ] (PLAY).…”

“…The PLAY tools have been developed to assess children from 7 years up (with recommendations mainly targeted at the 7–12-year range), comprised of measures of motor competence, comprehension, and confidence. Both tools integrate observational procedures and self-report, and feature overall good feasibility in PE [ 27 ] but lack options for older adolescents (15–18 years), a critical age range in Portugal which presents lower levels of PA [ 33 – 35 ] – making them a priority target in the Portuguese PE setting.…”

Portuguese Physical Literacy Assessment Observation (PPLA-O) for adolescents (15-18 years) from grades 10-12: development and initial validation through Item Response Theory

“…One option to solve this issue would be the use of available motor skill assessment batteries; however these suffer from multiple drawbacks: 1) they require additional training and/or lesson time for correct application (Shearer et al, 2021), and so lower their feasibility in PE settings; 2) they focus mostly on children (Hulteen et al, 2020); 3) those available for adolescents are generally product-oriented (Tidén et al, 2015), providing assessment only in discrete, lowgeneralization tasks (Giblin et al, 2014) that lack the needed ecological validity (Stodden et al, 2008) to understand engagement in advanced physical experiences in a variety of domains and environmental constraints (Burton & Rodgerson, 2001;Giblin et al, 2014) -a characteristic that de nes motor development in adolescence (Gallahue, 1996;Goodway et al, 2020); and, 4) they neglect the decision-making aspects previously mentioned, requiring separate use of other instruments, that are however limited to formalized games (Gréhaigne et al, 1997;Oslin et al, 1998).…”