Physical Literacy (Mis)understandings: What do Leading Physical Education Teachers Know About Physical Literacy?

Abstract

Physical literacy is a term and concept that has, in recent years, been gaining in both usage and popularity in many physical education (PE) contexts. However, discussion, writing, and understanding of physical literacy have been marked by uncertainty, confusion, or resistance. Since physical literacy can be found in several curricular documents and outcome statements, it would certainly be ideal for PE teachers to share a common understanding. This article reports on a qualitative case study in which 12 lead PE teachers from four Canadian provinces were interviewed, the purpose of which was to acquire knowledge about PE teachers’ understanding of physical literacy. Results suggest that these leaders are largely unable to articulate conceptions of physical literacy that are in line with contemporary perspectives. In light of these findings, a discussion about these physical literacy (mis)understandings is also offered.

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

“…In fact, one significant barrier to physical literacy realizing its potential is the diverse, sometimes conflicting, definitions that different groups adopt for physical literacy (Shearer et al, 2018). 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.…”

Operationalizing Physical Literacy: Special Issue Editorial

“…In the seventh article, Robinson, Randall, and Barrett (2018) explore how the initial introduction of physical literacy as well as its subsequent uptake has not been without disagreement and has been marked at times by uncertainty, confusion, or resistance (Lounsbery & McKenzie, 2015). This article reports on a qualitative case study in which 12 lead physical education teachers from four Canadian provinces were interviewed, whereby the researchers aimed to gain knowledge about physical education teachers' understanding of physical literacy.…”

The fantasmatic logics of physical literacy

“…The concept is now at the forefront of several PE and sport policies (see Edwards et al, 2018). Moreover, a substantial and expanding body of scholarship addresses the concept, exploring: its different philosophies Whitehead et al, 2018); definitions (Hyndman & Pill, 2018;Shearer et al, 2018;Jurbala, 2015;Cairney et al, 2019a;2019b;Lundvall, 2015); origins (Cairney et al, 2019a;Young et al, 2019); practices (Corbin, 2016;Robinson et al, 2018); policies (Dudley et al, 2017;Roetert & MacDonald, 2015;Shearer et al, 2018); measurements (Cairney et al, 2019b;Edwards et al, 2018); understandings and misunderstandings (Robinson et al, 2018), including a burgeoning number of special issues on physical literacy (e.g. Dudley et al, 2019;.…”