Development of a German Physical Literacy Assessment for Children in the Context of Health Promotion—An Explorative Approach

Abstract

Addressing physical literacy (PL) has become increasingly relevant to counteract sedentary behaviour in children and youth. We developed an assessment tool to measure and evaluate the promotion of individual PL and its four subdomains: motivation and confidence (the affective dimension), physical competence (physical dimension), knowledge and understanding (cognitive dimension), and participation in physical activity. Within this cross-sectional study, we tested 567 children aged 6–12 years from four primary schools that differed in socioeconomic status (SES). A subsequent exploratory factor analysis conducted to examine the conformity revealed a five-factor structure. The five factors explained 39.8% of the total cumulative variance. Children with a low SES yielded lower scores in all subdomains except participation in physical activity. This effect was most pronounced in motor skills (p < 0.001, r = 0.28). Among the children with a low SES, 16.9% were overweight and 17.4% were obese, compared to 11.5% and 5.4%, respectively, for those with a high SES (p < 0.001). In conclusion, although the assessment tool was largely in line with the postulated structure, further adjustments are necessary in terms of participation and motivation. Nevertheless, this holistic view of PL, taking SES into account, should enable the focused promotion of health and health literacy.

Validation of The Canadian Assessment of Physical Literacy – CAPL-2 Questionnaire for German and Polish School Children

“…The first is the dual protocol, as Poland is so far only validating CAPL-2 questionnaires and Germany is developing all CAPL-2 measurement procedures. Furthermore, we suggest comparing the German version of CAPL-2 with other instruments in the target population, such as Krenz et al (2022) used in Germany to measure physical literacy in children aged 8-12 years. It is also necessary to consider the socio-economic differentiation of the sample analysed in order to understand its impact on PL.…”

The Current Situation and Internal Pathway of Physical Literacy among Chinese Elementary School Students

“…The concept of physical literacy was defined as "the motivation, confidence, physical competency, knowledge and understanding to maintain physical activity throughout the life course" [16,17] . She believes that PL may support health-related behavior, specifically physical activity, from a holistic perspective that regards the human being as a unity of body and mind or as the result of collected experiences in the world, which in turn form the basis for one's own process of perception [18] . When an individual has lower PL, their ability to adopt a healthy lifestyle decreases, and the risk of engaging in unhealthy behaviors increases [19] .…”

Evaluation of Physical Literacy in 9- to 11-Year-Old Children: Reliability and Validity of Two Measurement Tools in Three Southeastern European Countries

“…Of special concern is the fact that recent reviews highlighted a progressive decline in moderate-and high-intensity PA even before adolescence, starting from early and middle childhood [5]. Consequently, the interest in strategies that could positively influence the overall PA level in children and youth and in the concept of physical literacy (PL) has increased [6,7]. PL can be defined as a "disposition to capitalize on our human-embodied capability wherein the individual has the motivation, confidence, physical competence, knowledge, and understanding to value and take responsibility for maintaining purposeful physical pursuits and activities throughout the life course" [8].…”