TY - JOUR
T1 - Physical literacy in Europe
T2 - The current state of implementation in research, practice, and policy
AU - Carl, Johannes
AU - Bryant, Anna S.
AU - Edwards, Lowri C.
AU - Bartle, Gillian
AU - Birch, Jens E.
AU - Christodoulides, Efstathios
AU - Emeljanovas, Arunas
AU - Fröberg, Andreas
AU - Gandrieau, Joseph
AU - Gilic, Barbara
AU - van Hilvoorde, Ivo
AU - Holler, Peter
AU - Iconomescu, Teodora M.
AU - Jaunig, Johannes
AU - Laudanska-Krzeminska, Ida
AU - Lundvall, Suzanne
AU - De Martelaer, Kristine
AU - Martins, João
AU - Mieziene, Brigita
AU - Mendoza-Muñoz, Maria
AU - Mouton, Alexandre
AU - Olaru, Bogdan S.
AU - Onofre, Marcos
AU - Pavlova, Iuliia
AU - Repond, Marie Rose
AU - Riga, Vassiliki
AU - Salin, Kasper
AU - Schnitzler, Christophe
AU - Sekulic, Damir
AU - Töpfer, Clemens
AU - Vasickova, Jana
AU - Yıldızer, Günay
AU - Zito, Viviana
AU - Bentsen, Peter
AU - Green, Nigel
AU - Elsborg, Peter
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 The Society of Chinese Scholars on Exercise Physiology and Fitness
PY - 2023/1/4
Y1 - 2023/1/4
N2 - Background/objective: The holistic concept of physical literacy (PL) embraces different person-centered qualities (physical, cognitive, affective/psychological) necessary to lead physically active lifestyles. PL has recently gained increasing attention globally and Europe is no exception. However, scientific endeavors summarizing the current state of PL in Europe are lacking. Therefore, the goal of this study was to comprehensively assess and compare the implementation of PL in research, policy, and practice across the continent. Methods: We assembled a panel of experts representing 25 European countries. Employing a complementary mixed-methods design, the experts first prepared reviews about the current state of PL in their countries (categories: research, practice/policy). The reviews underwent comparative document analysis, ensuring a transnational four-eyes principle. For re-validation purposes, the representatives completed a quantitative survey with questions reflecting the inductive themes from the document analysis. Results: The document analysis resulted in ten disjunct themes (related to “concept”, “research”, “practice/policy”, “future/prospect”) and yielded a heterogenous PL situation in Europe. The implementation state was strongly linked to conceptual discussions (e.g., existence of competing approaches), linguistic issues (e.g., translations), and country-specific traditions. Despite growing scholarly attention, PL hesitantly permeates practice and policy in most countries. Nevertheless, the experts largely anticipate increasing popularity of PL for the future. Conclusion: Despite the heterogeneous situation across Europe, the analysis has uncovered similarities among the countries, such as the presence of established yet not identical concepts. Research should intensify academic activities (conceptual-linguistic elaborations, empirical work) before PL may gain further access into practical and political spheres in the long term.
AB - Background/objective: The holistic concept of physical literacy (PL) embraces different person-centered qualities (physical, cognitive, affective/psychological) necessary to lead physically active lifestyles. PL has recently gained increasing attention globally and Europe is no exception. However, scientific endeavors summarizing the current state of PL in Europe are lacking. Therefore, the goal of this study was to comprehensively assess and compare the implementation of PL in research, policy, and practice across the continent. Methods: We assembled a panel of experts representing 25 European countries. Employing a complementary mixed-methods design, the experts first prepared reviews about the current state of PL in their countries (categories: research, practice/policy). The reviews underwent comparative document analysis, ensuring a transnational four-eyes principle. For re-validation purposes, the representatives completed a quantitative survey with questions reflecting the inductive themes from the document analysis. Results: The document analysis resulted in ten disjunct themes (related to “concept”, “research”, “practice/policy”, “future/prospect”) and yielded a heterogenous PL situation in Europe. The implementation state was strongly linked to conceptual discussions (e.g., existence of competing approaches), linguistic issues (e.g., translations), and country-specific traditions. Despite growing scholarly attention, PL hesitantly permeates practice and policy in most countries. Nevertheless, the experts largely anticipate increasing popularity of PL for the future. Conclusion: Despite the heterogeneous situation across Europe, the analysis has uncovered similarities among the countries, such as the presence of established yet not identical concepts. Research should intensify academic activities (conceptual-linguistic elaborations, empirical work) before PL may gain further access into practical and political spheres in the long term.
KW - Active lifestyle
KW - Competence
KW - Education
KW - Exercise
KW - Health
KW - Physical activity
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85145830662&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.jesf.2022.12.003
DO - 10.1016/j.jesf.2022.12.003
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85145830662
SN - 1728-869X
VL - 21
SP - 165
EP - 176
JO - Journal of Exercise Science and Fitness
JF - Journal of Exercise Science and Fitness
IS - 1
ER -
