Charting Physical Literacy Journeys Within Physical Education Settings

Abstract

Physical literacy is creating significant interest worldwide due to its holistic nature and the potential it has to impact on people’s lives. It is underpinning many physical education programs, coaching strategies, health initiatives, and policymakers’ decisions. However, the complex philosophical and holistic nature of the concept has meant that methods used to chart/assess/measure progress have been very much dependent on the pedagogues interpretation of the concept. This paper will provide a review of current practices and issues related to charting/assessing/measuring progress of an individual’s journey. It will go on to highlight considerations that, we suggest, should be made by any organization developing methods to chart/assess/measure progress.

Practical and Ethical Considerations for Schools Using Social Media to Promote Physical Literacy in Youth

“…Wearable health technologies and trackers are typically designed for the general user to monitor particular health metrics (e.g., heart rate, steps, distance traveled) and connect to a database, via phone or internet, to allow users to manage, learn, and adjust their physical activity accordingly based on their shared data [44]. Such information would be valuable to students and teachers as it would provide them with more opportunities for varied and in-depth charting of their physical literacy journey [16,45]. Other software and technologies, such as augmented and virtual reality, can be utilized by mobile devices to aid in student development of physical literacy.…”

“…Physical literacy in the U.S. is defined as "the ability, confidence, and desire to be physically active for life" [15] (p. 3). Being physically literate contributes to a healthy life-course trajectory as it is both the foundation for, and enhanced by, physical activity [16]. As such, high physical literacy can help youth manage their weight and reduce health risks [17,18].…”

“…Understanding that physical and health education should be "nurturing, empowering, motivating and engaging for all students" (p. 562), Vollum argues that the social interactions resulting from social media have become integrated into standard physical and health education pedagogy. Given the relationship between increased physical literacy and positive health and academic outcomes [15,16,24], it stands to reason that best practices and lessons learned from social media use in the healthcare industry be adopted by health and physical educators practicing in schools. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to consider and provide commentary on several practical and ethical challenges, as well as opportunities, for using social media to improve physical literacy among youth.…”

Defining Physical Literacy for Application in Australia: A Modified Delphi Method

“…This situation has been critiqued as causing confusion and conflict, and even for being too divergent from Whitehead's 'original' intended meaning (Hyndman & Pill, 2017;Robinson, Randall, & Barrett, 2018); but of course, simply because a concept has been formulated before does not prevent other researchers from exploring and testing that formulation, or from seeking approaches that are more suitable to a specific local context (e.g., Whitehead, 2010). Recent systematic reviews (Edwards et al, 2017;Edwards, Bryant, Keegan, Morgan, & Jones, 2018) and narrative overviews (Green, Roberts, Sheehan, & Keegan, 2018;Shearer et al, 2018) have analyzed and compared the differing approaches to conceptualizing and operationalizing physical literacy. These reviews note that while adopting different approaches, most researchers and practitioners promoting physical literacy agree regarding the underpinning formulation of a holistic concept, and the importance of adopting an approach that emphasizes holistic benefits instead of separately pursuing health benefits, skill development, or competitive success.…”

The Athletics Literacy through Need Assessment Software in contribution to the Physical Education and Health Learning Process

“…This is especially for learners who are still schooling and desire knowledge on the importance of physical activity [3]. Athletics literacy in its development does not comprise more of a holistic nature but is also simple, so as to promote easy comprehension by the readers [4]. The literacy values were also implemented in each physical education learning process in relation to the physical activities included in every subject in the school [5].…”