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BackgroundPhysical literacy is an emerging construct in children’s health promotion, and may impact their lifelong physical activity habits. However, recent data reveal that only a small portion of Canadian children are regularly physically active and/or meet sedentary behaviour guidelines. To our knowledge, no study has investigated the association between physical literacy and movement behaviour guidelines. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between physical literacy scores in Canadian children who meet or do not meet physical activity and sedentary behaviour guidelines.MethodsChildren (n = 2956; 56.6% girls) aged 8–12 years from 10 Canadian cities had their physical literacy levels measured using the Canadian Assessment of Physical Literacy, which consists of four domains (Physical Competence; Daily Behaviour; Knowledge and Understanding; and Motivation and Confidence) that are aggregated to provide a composite physical literacy score. Physical activity levels were measured by pedometers, and sedentary behaviour was assessed through self-report questionnaire. Analyses were conducted separately for each guideline, comparing participants meeting versus those not meeting the guidelines. Comparisons were performed using MANOVA and logistic regression to control for age, gender, and seasonality.ResultsParticipants meeting physical activity guidelines or sedentary behaviour guidelines had higher physical literacy domain scores for Physical Competence and for Motivation and Confidence compared to those not meeting either guideline (both p < 0.0001). Participants had increased odds of meeting physical activity guidelines and sedentary behaviour guidelines if they met the minimum recommended level of the Physical Competence and Motivation and Confidence domains. Significant age (OR 0.9; 95% CI: 0.8, 0.9), gender (OR 0.4; 95% CI: 0.3, 0.5) and seasonality effects (OR 1.6; 95% CI: 1.2, 2.2 spring and OR 1.7; 95% CI: 1.2, 2.5 summer, reference winter) were seen for physical activity guidelines, and age (OR 0.8; 95% CI: 0.7, 0.8) and gender effects (OR 1.7; 95% CI: 1.4, 2.0) for sedentary behaviour guidelines. Knowledge and Understanding of physical activity principles was not related to guideline adherence in either model.ConclusionsThese cross-sectional findings demonstrate important associations between physical literacy and guideline adherence for physical activity and sedentary behaviour. Future research should explore the causality of these associations.

There were two main objectives of this research. First, we wanted to examine whether video feedback of the self (self-observation) was more effective for motor skill learning when the choice to view the video was provided to the learner (learner-controlled, LC) as opposed to an experimenter-controlled (EC) delivery. Secondly, we explored whether there were differences in the self-regulatory processes of self-efficacy and intrinsic motivation, as well as perceived choice between the LC and EC conditions. Two groups (LC and EC) of children (M age of 11.2 years; SD = 1.89) attempted to learn a progression of trampoline skills during a 2-day acquisition phase in which video self-observation was available. The second acquisition day was followed by a no self-observation retention test 1 day later. It was hypothesized that, during retention, the LC group would be more self-efficacious about their ability to progress through the trampoline skills, show greater intrinsic motivation and perceived choice, and go further in skill progression than the EC group. Analysis of the acquisition data showed the LC group had greater increases in self-efficacy as compared to the EC group. Results of the retention test showed that the participants in the LC group obtained higher scores on the intrinsic motivation and perceived choice measures and had higher skill progression scores as compared to the EC group. Regression analysis showed that group assignment and self-efficacy were significant predictors of the physical performance benefits noted in retention. These findings are discussed within Zimmerman’s (2004) self-regulation of learning model.

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BackgroundThe current physical literacy level of Canadian children is unknown. The Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) Learn to Play – Canadian Assessment of Physical Literacy (CAPL) project, which is anchored in the Canadian consensus statement definition of physical literacy, aimed to help establish the current physical literacy level of Canadian children.MethodsThe CAPL was used to assess the physical literacy (and component domains: Daily Behaviour, Physical Competence, Knowledge and Understanding, and Motivation and Confidence) of Canadian children aged 8–12 years. Data were collected from 11 sites across Canada, yielding a sample of 10,034 participants (5030 girls). Descriptive statistics by age and gender were calculated and percentile distributions of physical literacy scores, including each domain and individual measure, were derived.ResultsThe mean age of participants was 10.1 ± 1.2 years. Total physical literacy scores (out of 100) were on average 63.1 ± 13.0 for boys and 62.2 ± 11.3 for girls. For boys and girls respectively, domain scores were 19.9 ± 4.7 and 19.3 ± 4.1 (out of 32) for Physical Competence; 18.6 ± 7.9 and 18.5 ± 7.4 (out of 32) for Daily Behaviour; 12.7 ± 2.8 and 12.2 ± 2.6 (out of 18) for Motivation and Confidence; and 11.8 ± 2.8 and 12.2 ± 2.6 (out of 18) for Knowledge and Understanding. Physical Competence measures were on average 28.1 ± 8.4 cm (sit-and-reach flexibility), 33.5 ± 9.4 kg (grip strength, right + left), 23.4 ± 14.1 laps (Progressive Aerobic Cardiovascular Endurance Run [PACER] shuttle run), 61.8 ± 43.8 s (isometric plank), 19.0 ± 3.8 kg/m2 (body mass index), 67.3 ± 10.8 cm (waist circumference), and 20.6 ± 3.9 out of 28 points for the Canadian Agility and Movement Skill Assessment (CAMSA), with scores for boys higher than girls and older children higher than younger children for grip strength, PACER, plank, and CAMSA score. Girls and younger children had better scores on the sit-and-reach flexibility than boys and older children. Daily pedometer step counts were higher in boys than girls (12,355 ± 4252 vs. 10,779 ± 3624), and decreased with age.ConclusionsThese results provide the largest and most comprehensive assessment of physical literacy of Canadian children to date, providing a “state of the nation” baseline, and can be used to monitor changes and inform intervention strategies going forward.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s12889-018-5891-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.