This study set out to gather empirical data from key stakeholders working with young people in areas related to physical literacy across the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, to capture their current understanding and awareness of physical literacy in order to inform the development of the first all-island consensus statement for physical literacy, and to guide strategic /policy direction and implementation from the bottom up. Acknowledgement and recognition of specific cultural contexts and social inequalities are identified by Dudley et al. [13] as being a central pillar to effective policy development in physical literacy. As a result, differing international approaches to physical literacy have emerged in the interpretation and operationalisation of physical literacy, although this itself is not without debate. Most recently, a paper by Stevens et al. [21] presented the concerns of the impact of a Westernised interpretation of physical literacy that neglects the values, identity and aspirations of Aotearoa New Zealand.
While physical literacy has the potential to be a unifying concept that can enable stakeholders from health, sport and education to strategically come together [5, 6, 13, 34], in Ireland this practice is only emerging. Dudley et al. [13], in a paper on critical considerations for physical literacy policy development, suggested that those working to embed physical literacy within policy should engage the various agencies and co-create the major shift needed to embed physical literacy across sport, recreation, education, health, planning and transport. The authors further highlight that the development of physical literacy is not individualistic, but rather the result of social processes, and is evolved through practice embedded in social and cultural contexts, underlining that those working within and across the sectors of education, recreation, sport and health are important agents [13]. Crucially, the current paper is one of the first to include and synthesise the stakeholder voice from across these sectors in relation to physical literacy. As such it acknowledges the importance of this cross-sectoral approach to help build an understanding of the Irish landscape as a foundation for the development of the physical literacy statement.
Physical literacy awareness and expertise
Interestingly, while the majority of respondents (89%) indicated they work in an area directly related to physical literacy, just 43% considered themselves experts or near experts in the area of physical literacy. Unsurprisingly, and consistent with the findings by Goss et al.in a sample of ‘academic/practitioner experts’ [35], those working in higher education (69%) or as PE specialists (67%) were more likely to rate themselves as experts or near experts, while Coaches, Decision Makers and those working in education more generally were more likely to indicate they had no expertise (9%, 12% and 12% respectively). This presents a potential challenge to policy development and implementation where those in a position to advocate for PL, due to their role as decision-makers, or their role as providers of PL programmes to young people in education and sport, feel least expert in this field. This also underlines that current explanations and communications around physical literacy may not be sufficient for the range of contexts in which physical literacy is acquired, developed and promoted, and efforts to ‘demystify’ physical literacy, and build confidence and expertise in specific groups will be needed. As a result, future work needs to be better translate theory around physical literacy in a way that is accessible to a range of audiences; which is especially pertinent given that one of the most unique aspects of physical literacy is its application across a number of disciplines. The link between physical literacy theory, understanding, policy and practice is reciprocal, and consideration of all of these levels is needed to advance the field. Consistent with Dudley et al’s [13] contention that agency executives have a major leadership responsibility to play in devolving power and decision making to panels of stakeholders with whom they engage, Irish ‘decision makers’ working to embed physical literacy within policy, and to operationalise the consensus statement on physical literacy, may benefit from engaging fully with others who have expertise in the area for support and insight. Communication between decision makers and PE teachers may be particularly critical, with research suggesting that teachers are often left out of significant and strategic decision making, and not consulted or provided with the opportunity to give input or feedback [36].
Perceived importance of physical literacy components and domains
Mindful of the concerns raised in previous research regarding the over-simplification of physical literacy [11, 17], or that components hold different meanings to different groups [5, 17, 18], this study sought to explore a broad range of components, and also an opportunity for participants to articulate what physical literacy means to them in their own words. The three domains selected to organise the physical literacy components in this paper (Physical/Psychomotor, Cognitive and Affective), are those consistently used throughout physical literacy research [3, 5, 14, 37,38,39,40,41]. Though there is variation in the perception of importance or ‘value’ of physical literacy domains across stakeholder groups, it is true to say that the data presented in Table 3 suggests that all the components listed are considered in some way ‘important’ by participants in this study to a greater or lesser extent. Physical Fitness, Knowledge of Physical Activity, Knowledge of Movement, Creativity in a Range of Physical Activities and Sports and Resilience were the lowest ranked, with means ranging from 2.7 to 2.9 (with 3 being the ranking for an ‘Important Component of Physical Literacy’). All other physical literacy components scored a mean of 3 or above, with Physical Activity, Fundamental Movement Skills and Enjoyment ranking highest.
Different stakeholder-perspectives are apparent in the results, with those working in an educational paradigm (non-specialist teachers and PE Teacher alike) scoring all three domains of physical literacy significantly higher in importance than decision makers, and significantly higher than coaches in the Cognitive and Affective domains. The higher level of importance placed on physical literacy domains by this cohort may be attributed to initial teacher education, which is known to play a role in shaping teachers beliefs [42], and encourage holistic approaches to child development [43, 44]. While all stakeholders will need to work collaboratively operationalise physical literacy, it is the coaches and those in decision making roles that may need more convincing about its importance.
Priority of physical literacy domains within stakeholders
For the most part the Affective and Cognitive domains are held in equal importance within each Stakeholder group, with the exception being the Coaches group, who place significantly higher importance on the Affective domain than the Cognitive domain. Results of the within-stakeholder analysis in this study indicate however that all stakeholder groups rated the importance of the Physical/Psychomotor domain of physical literacy significantly higher than the Affective or Cognitive domains. Work carried out in Canada, which used factor analysis to help refine the Canadian Assessment of Physical Literacy (CAPL), found the cognitive domain was deemed to have lower relative importance to physical literacy assessment overall, which led to the revision of the Knowledge and Understanding (Cognitive) domain within CAPL-2 [45]. CAPL-2 and the present study both reflect a youth context, as such it could be considered that in this life stage a difference in the relative importance being placed by stakeholders on the physical/psychomotor domain over other domains may exist, which may have implications for the operationalisation of physical literacy in this age group specifically. Findings of this study are consistent with some of the academic literature to date which has prioritised the physical/psychomotor domain (for recent examples, see Said [46] and Warner [47]), albeit against Whitehead’s conceptualisation that all domains are equally important [37].
It could be argued that the perceptions of participants in the current study simply reflect a lack of understanding of the holistic nature of the concept, which has been observed in previous research in early years [48], school [35], and health settings [49]. While the perceptions of participants should not be diminished or discounted, the prioritisation of the physical domain within physical literacy has been an ongoing area of contention in the field (e.g .[50]), with some suggesting that the prioritisation of this domain leads to a narrow, dualistic, understanding that suggests becoming ‘physically literate’ as an end state outcome [9, 15, 22, 51], and moves away from monism; a philosophical underpinning of physical literacy [1, 52]. This evidence of current understanding, presents the need for further education opportunities to convey a deeper, holistic conceptualisation of physical literacy across, within, and between contexts and stakeholders. In practical terms, it points to the potential gains to be made in developing targeted education strategies when working with stakeholder groups in the context of youth physical literacy. For example, in recognising the dominance of the physical domain within each stakeholder group, it is recommended that future education campaigns with such stakeholders would emphasise the breadth of domains of physical literacy, reinforce the holistic nature of the concept, and underline the importance of developing across all domains.
‘What does Physical Literacy mean to you?’
As well as ranking the importance of the dimensions included in physical literacy, participants were asked, in an open-ended question (‘What does Physical Literacy mean to you?’), about their own interpretation of physical literacy. A number of common themes were identified, as are presented in Table 6. While it could be argued the items listed under the themes presented in Table 6 above align with some of the existing physical literacy components articulated in Table 1, the fact that participants felt them important to mention suggests they represent culturally important language around components, worth considering as particularly relevant in the physical literacy context for the island of Ireland.
The vision of physical literacy as a concept supporting lifelong engagement not only in physical activity, but also in society, is notable, particularly when considering participants in this study were those working within the youth context. This highlights that although participants work within a youth sector, they recognise their role, and the role of physical literacy, as a lifelong influence. The lifelong nature of physical literacy is consistently a core defining feature of the concept, although the majority of research to date has been predominantly focussed on a youth context [54]. It is encouraging to see that stakeholders themselves working in this youth context see the importance of a proactive and salutogenic approach to promoting physical literacy and it would suggest that there is a readiness amongst key stakeholders to adopt an approach to physical literacy policy development that involves a ‘life-long’ physical literacy journey’
Findings from the current study, in line with the Australian consensus statement [5], and work by Mandigo et al. [43] in Canada , highlight the social domain as a key component of physical literacy. Various social benefits of physical literacy, including ‘social skills’, ‘relating to others’, ‘competent within society for life’, ‘participating in a meaningful way in society’ and ‘becoming a better citizen’, were all identified by participants in this study. This emphasis on social benefits of physical literacy differs from the dominant International Physical Literacy Association definition [44], who do not currently include the social as a separate named domain or element within their definition. The growing recognition of the social element across different international perspectives suggests the social component of physical literacy is an area that warrants further consideration and research. With regard to the purpose of the current study, this finding suggests that to stakeholders on the island of Ireland there is a social context associated with physical literacy that is valued and is important to consider in consensus statement development work.
In addition, the potential element of physical literacy which speaks to ‘mind and body connectivity awareness’ is also important. This theme shows similarities with what Whitehead placed as one of the three underpinning philosophies of physical literacy; monism [1, 52]. While it has been suggested that the underpinning philosophy of physical literacy has been what has made the concept ‘abstract and inaccessible’ (pg 372, [11]), it is encouraging to find that whilst the terminology may differ, stakeholders value the intertwined importance of the mind and body together, which is often referred to as a holistic approach. This notion of physical literacy related constructs being intertwined and interdependent is further reinforced by the findings that suggested the difficulty in separating constructs, such as ‘knowledge and understanding’ and ‘movement competence’. The theme of ‘movement vocabulary and safety’ is also noteworthy. To a very large extent this could well be considered to fall under a heading of ‘knowledge and understanding’, however it is also true to say many people may view ‘knowledge and understanding’ from a much narrower and more cognitive paradigm. This raises the question for the development of the all-island consensus statement; whether the knowledge and understanding paradigm needs to be more clearly articulated and defined, or whether in fact an additional category needs to be included to capture this.
Key considerations moving forward
In developing a consensus statement for the island of Ireland, and more particularly when operationalising this statement, emphasis will need to be placed on addressing the ‘poorer’ status of both the affective and cognitive domains when compared with the physical domain. Specifically, some of the ‘personal benefits’ highlighted by stakeholders when asked ‘What does physical literacy mean to you?’ (Table 6), including ‘mental attitude and strength’, ‘emotional and cognitive benefits’ and ‘fulfilment’, may suggest that there is some appreciation for the cognitive and affective aspects of physical literacy. A factor that can influence stakeholders’ perceptions is stakeholder understanding of the terminology used relating to physical literacy domains or components. Martin’s et al., [17] suggested that simplifying knowledge and terminology is important to help make physical literacy more accessible and usable by those who are directly involved with implementation in the fields of education, sport, and public health.
More accessible language may assist in addressing the imbalances currently evident in the prioritising of domains, and help remove ambiguity as to what each domain means (and what components it may represent). As previously discussed however, this is a balance, as there is a need to be mindful of the work of Young et al. [15] who warned that simplified interpretations of the concept risk uncoupling from the core meaning of the concept. Future work in disseminating the holistic nature of the concept in an accessible manner with practical guidance on developing all domains of physical literacy is needed – which has very direct implications for the development and operationalisation of Ireland’s all-island consensus statement on physical literacy. Potentially given the existing grasp of concepts linked to affective and cognitive evidenced in the data above, development of a more holistic approach to physical literacy will be akin to ‘pushing against an open door’ with key stakeholders who show some indications of understanding or ‘readiness’ to move to holistic approaches when describing PL in their own words. A crucial consideration moving forward (which was beyond the scope of the current study), would be to explore how stakeholders acquired their perceptions, as this knowledge could aid researchers in better translating physical literacy theory.
Crucially, findings of this study suggest that currently those working in education settings are more comfortable with concepts relating to physical literacy, and as such future work to grow expertise across all sectors will be vital. Findings also suggest that, currently the physical/psychomotor domain is better understood and prioritised amongst Irish stakeholders, and so efforts to develop and encourage a more holistic approach with specific emphasis on elevating the status of both the affective and cognitive (knowledge and understanding) domains is warranted; developing physical literacy as a lifelong journey is an important perception of the concept amongst stakeholders. Study findings support that there is a level of readiness for such developments. Consideration and adoption of the ‘social benefits’ of physical literacy also has importance to Irish stakeholders and deserves attention in the development physical literacy across the island.
Strengths and limitations
Strengths of the current study include the nationally representative sample, from NI and the RoI, and representing a broad range of stakeholders involved in delivering physical literacy related programmes to young people. As stated, it was beyond the scope of this project to focus on other life stages, although the importance of physical literacy as a lifelong journey was conveyed in responses. This is the first study that this research team is aware of to investigate and incorporate a range of stakeholders perceptions of physical literacy in the formative stages of national consensus statement development. The information obtained regarding how physical literacy is understood, how understanding differs, and indeed the priority placed on the different domains of physical literacy by stakeholder groups, provides critical information which can inform the development of Ireland’s all-island consensus statement. Early stakeholder involvement can hopefully prevent some of the ‘uncertainty, confusion, and resistance’ (pp.1 [55]) to the concept, and this involvement should be ongoing. Acknowledging that physical literacy is already being developed and operationalised, this work is building on already established practices that are embedded across the social, cultural environments.
The researcher developed questionnaire used in this study is a limitation, as no existing validated questionnaire was available to meet the needs of the study. Nevertheless, the data gathered in this study supports the development of a statement for physical literacy for the island of Ireland, that is culturally and socially relevant, and provides an insight into how physical literacy is interpreted, how important various components are perceived to be, and how it is prioritised by those working in various roles and sectors on the island of Ireland. The open-ended question item, which was posed at the start of the survey was optional, with 48% of participants choosing to respond. While a lower response rate to open ended questions due to burden placed on participants is to be expected [53], it is possible also that it could due to other factors in addition to participant burden, including a potential lack of confidence or ability of some participants in articulating understanding of the concept. Responses offered are nonetheless very useful, however should be interpreted with caution.