Developing Children’s Physical Literacy: How well prepared are prospective teachers?

Abstract

While the known health impacts of sedentary lifestyles have focused attention on children's outdoor activity, the development of their physical literacythe physiological, social, cultural, cognitive, expressive, and psychological dimensions of their physicalityis much less in focus. Developing children's physical literacy is embedded in the Early Years Learning Framework and Primary curriculum: Health and Physical Education, and the performing arts subjects within The Arts. This study asks "How well prepared are pre-service teachers to implement a program that contributes to developing children's physical literacy?" This mixed methods study includes an environmental scan of BEd courses at 12 Australian universities; and at one university, a content analysis of units, a review of 227 students' practicum records, and an online survey of 57 pre-service teachers. The study finds that pre-service teachers are generally well-informed, committed and confident but have limited diagnostic and practical pedagogical skills to effectively develop children's physical literacy.

The Impact of Changes in Physical Education Class Enrollment on Moderate‐to‐Vigorous Physical Activity Among a Large Sample of Canadian Youth

“…10,[19][20][21][22][23] Some evidence suggests females' physical education enrollment is improved by removing mandatory fitness testing, hosting classes in private gyms, and providing increased flexibility in timetables. 24,25 Consistent with previous research, 2,3,10,11 results in this study indicated a decrease in physical education enrollment from 100% at baseline to 24% at follow-up, respectively. With the number of courses available to Ontario and Alberta grade 11 and 12 students, [7][8][9][10] the decrease in enrollment is concerning.…”

“…2,4,11,20,30,31 Findings from this study contribute recent data of youth MVPA guideline adherence, and illuminate the importance of continued physical education enrollment in high school and participation in sports. Considering the factors that contribute to students' physical education enrollment, 21,[24][25][26]28 future research should explore the effect of mandated physical education among grade 11 and 12 students. Physical education is only 1 component of increasing youth MVPA and adherence to National MVPA guidelines and because youth spend majority of their day at school, 32 it remains an opportune context for promoting healthy active living during high school and beyond.…”

Physical Literacy Assessment Tools: A Systematic Literature Review for Why, What, Who, and How

“…For example, ref. [26] report that the availability of relevant PL assessment tools to collect data about children's development remains an unanswered issue. Besides, both [27,28] comment that, although most of the existing PL assessment tools attempted to assess PL progress, the adopted simplistic, linear, and reductionist tools lack the essence of PL.…”

Literacy dimension in physical education: analysis of construct validity instrument

“…Whereas in the international world, physical literacy has begun to develop and be developed because it has an important role in the physical, psychological, behavioural, attitude, and social development and growth of school children (Edwards et al, 2017;Neibert, 2013). In Indonesia, the attention to developing physical literacy in various activities has not been seen, but it is this concept that frames the objectives of physical activity education in the curriculum (Dinham & Williams, 2019).…”

“…Literacy in contemporary contexts is defined as being knowledgeable and able to construct, represent and communicate meaning in various contexts by using conventions and symbol systems from a particular field or subject (Dinham & Williams, 2019;Gustian, 2020;Park, 2017). Literacy is a symbol, system and sound system that contains meaning.…”