Developing Physical Literacy Enriched Opportunities within the Home, School, and Community Contexts

Abstract

Physical literacy can be defined as “the motivation, confidence, physical competence, knowledge and understanding to value and take responsibility for engagement in physical activities for life” (International Physical Literacy Association (IPLA), 2014; Tremblay et al., 2018, p. 14). As a precursor to being physically active, physical literacy has the potential to positively influence the development of social, mental and physical wellbeing of children (Cairney et al., 2019). Given the holistic development of physical literacy emphasizes the importance of moving in different environments (e.g., land, ice, snow, water, and air) and contexts (e.g., home, school, and community), role models (e.g., parents, teachers, coaches, recreation leaders) play an important part in providing positive movement experiences in these spaces. To date, there is a lack of research exploring physical literacy development from a multi-contextual approach, a gap which this dissertation will address. Physical activity, as measured by the Physical Activity Questionnaire for Children (PAQ-C), physical literacy as assessed by the Physical Literacy Assessment for Youth (PLAY) tools, and interviews of the Partners for Physical Literacy were the primary sources of data for this dissertation. Using these measures, this dissertation examined the influence of maturation on physical literacy (Study One), the effects of a physical literacy intervention on physical activity and physical literacy (Study Two), and the partners’ experiences of developing and implementing a multi-contextual (e.g., home, school, community) and multi-sectoral (sport, recreation, education) physical literacy enriched program (Study Three). Study One findings suggest there are significant differences between boys and girls at various chronological and biological ages in motor competence only. Study Two demonstrated that although not all measures of physical literacy (e.g., PLAY fun, PLAY self, PLAY parent, PLAY coach) were positively impacted by the five-month intervention, components including children’s motor competence and parent perception of their child’s physical literacy had positive intervention effects. Study Three identified some key factors to success which should be included in a partnership approach to creating a physical literacy enriched community including alignment in strategies when working in a community, clear goals and expectations, strong communication and leadership, and transparency around capacity and commitment. Overall, this dissertation provides insight for future intervention with a similar goal of enhancing physical literacy in the home, school, and community contexts.