Development of an assessment approach for physical literacy in children

Abstract

Regular physical activity (PA) is associated with a wide array of positive physical, psychological, social, and cognitive health benefits in children. Consequently, many international organisations and countries have issued recommendations for engaging in health enhancing PA. Despite this, children in many countries do not achieve the levels of PA necessary for optimal health. This is concerning, as childhood is a crucial phase for the formation of skills and attributes that underlie lifelong PA practice. PA as a health behaviour is complex and impacted by a gamut of factors. Examined through a socio-ecological lens, these behavioural influences operate at the intrapersonal/individual, interpersonal, institutional, community, and policy level. Recently, physical literacy (PL) has gained traction among researchers, practitioners, and governments in many countries. The concept proposes a repertoire of individual-level skills and attributes (e.g., motivation, physical competence) needed to perpetuate lifelong engagement in movement and physically active lifestyles. However, PL’s popularity has preceded empirical evidence to support the legitimacy of the concept, with only a limited number of studies evidencing PL’s effect on health and wellbeing outcomes. A potential reason for this lack of evidence is the paucity of valid and reliable tools with which to assess children's PL.PL assessment has recently become a key foci within the research field. However, there are very few tools suitable for use by teachers in assessing children’s PL. Moreover, none aligns with, or assesses, the comprehensive Australian Physical Literacy Framework (APLF), and its 30 elements and four domains (physical, psychological, social, cognitive). Accordingly, the principal aim of this thesis was to develop the Physical Literacy Questionnaire for Teachers (PLQ-T) –a teacher proxy-report tool for children’s (aged 5-12 years) PL assessment. The PLQT was developed through deductive (systematic review of extant literature) and inductive processes (exploratory research involving a mixed-methods study), which subsequently informed the studies/chapters included in the thesis. Early validation evidence (including face and content validity) for the PLQ-T is further provided.This thesis is comprised of seven chapters with each study constituting a paper. As such, this doctoral thesis is made of up a series of publications, each making a unique contribution to the evidence base on teachers’ perspectives and assessment of PL.

Date of Award	May 2023
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Coventry University Deakin University
Supervisor	Lisa Barnett (Supervisor), Jo Salmon (Supervisor), Michael Duncan (Supervisor), Natalie Lander (Supervisor), Emma Eyre (Supervisor) & Elyse Warner (Supervisor)