Physical literacy: importance, assessment and future directions

Area of Science:

• Sports Science
• Physical Education
• Public Health

Background:

• Physical literacy (PL) is a key focus in global physical education, activity, and sports.
• Governments invest heavily in PL, anticipating benefits like healthcare savings and improved well-being.
• Current scientific evidence for PL intervention efficacy is limited, hindering investment justification.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify limitations in current movement assessment tools used in physical literacy (PL) research.
• To explain discrepancies in research findings regarding PL intervention outcomes.
• To propose future directions for developing empirical measures of PL movement skills.

Main Methods:

• Review of existing literature on physical literacy (PL) interventions and assessment tools.
• Analysis of discrepancies between measurement tools and expected outcomes of PL programs.
• Conceptualization of proficient PL skills and limitations of current evaluation instruments.

Main Results:

• Significant limitations exist in movement assessment batteries for evaluating PL interventions.
• There is a lack of robust empirical tools to evidence skill learning in the physical movement aspect of PL.
• Discrepancies in measurement tools contribute to contradictory research findings on PL efficacy.

Conclusions:

• The efficacy of physical literacy (PL) interventions is difficult to ascertain due to inadequate movement assessment.
• Developing reliable and valid empirical tools for assessing PL movement skills is essential.
• Future research should focus on creating robust measurement instruments to support PL claims and investments.