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| Feature | No.65 October 2013 |

Physical literacy as a Journey

Liz Taplin

Abstract

Whitehead (2013) states that physical literacy is ‘best seen as a journey; a journey unique to each individual.’ This article examines Whitehead’s statement and establishes the relevance and usefulness of adopting the journey metaphor. Furthermore, life history will be suggested as a method of recording and mapping an individual’s physical literacy journey. The article uses, and builds on, ideas presented by the author at the International Physical Literacy Conferences in Banff (Canada) and at Wyboston Spa (UK) in 2013.

This article considers the premise that physical literacy is ‘best seen as a journey; a journey unique to each individual’ (Whitehead, 2013) and aims to examine the appropriateness of this claim. The discussion is based on an acceptance of the most recent definition of physical literacy that it is:

… a disposition to capitalise on our human embodied capability, wherein the individual has the motivation, confidence, physical competence, knowledge and understanding to value and take responsibility for maintaining purposeful physical pursuits/activities throughout the life course. (Whitehead, 2013)

In addition, it will be suggested that the use of life-history is one method that can be used to record physical literacy journeys and can play a role in charting, or mapping, the progress an individual makes on their physical literacy journey.

Whitehead (2010) suggests that physical literacy is a journey from cradle to grave and that every individual travels their own unique physical literacy journey. Some people, mistakenly, see physical literacy as an end point. It is often, mistakenly, seen purely as a level of skill that needs to be achieved in childhood before an individual can move onto more complex activities. This is most certainly not the case (Whitehead, 2013). Whilst childhood is a critical phase for developing physical literacy, it is important that physical literacy is seen as a lifelong disposition. It can be hard work developing physical literacy, but it is relatively easy to become physically illiterate at any point during the life course. Whitehead (2010, p12) states that ‘physical literacy is a lifelong asset, enriching life at all stages’ but it is also a disposition that has to be nurtured and maintained, otherwise it will be lost. In this respect, seeing physical literacy as a journey, rather than a destination, is most apt.

The phrase ‘physical literacy is a journey’ is a metaphor, which is simply a linguistic tool used to explain a particular idea. Lakoff & Johnson (1980) suggest that using metaphor is a way of explaining abstract ideas in a concrete fashion which helps shape the way one sees the world. Thus, using the ‘physical literacy is a journey’ metaphor helps to make sense of the concept. Furthermore, Lakoff & Johnson (1980) suggest that as individuals and/or groups become familiar with a particular metaphor, they begin to feel confident with its meaning to such an extent that the metaphor becomes a reality. As this reality becomes stronger it begins to be acted upon. For example, if we understand physical literacy as a journey throughout life, we are more likely to understand that developing our physical literacy is an on-going process; or a marathon as opposed to a sprint.

With physical literacy being a disposition which needs maintaining throughout the life course, a challenging set of circumstances faces each individual. The decisions and actions required are not dissimilar to those taken on a demanding journey, where the traveller has decisions as to what mode of transport to take; what route to take; where to have rest; how to cope with breakdowns or unexpected delays. In terms of developing physical literacy, the comparisons are clear to see; the individual has to decide what activities to engage in, how often to participate, how to improve, how to deal with injury and other setbacks.

Lakoff & Johnson (1980) explain that the journey metaphor focuses on content and progress, which defines the path travelled. The more widely the individual travels, the more they will see; and that the more interesting the journey, the more rewarding the experience will be. Again, the comparisons are clear to see as Whitehead (2013) suggests physical literacy is dependent on the individual engaging in a variety of movement experiences – movement of different types, in different environments and under different circumstances.

Whitehead with Murdoch (2006) suggest there are six life stages through which the physical literacy journey travels: infancy (birth – four years); childhood (five to eleven years); adolescence (eleven to eighteen years); early adulthood (eighteen to 30 years); adulthood (30 – 65 years); and older age (65 years +). Each of these life stages is equally important and each will have its distinct characteristics. These characteristics will vary from person to person, as each individual experiences a unique set of challenges.

Whitehead (2010) also discusses the importance of the key elements of physical literacy; in particular she cites the way in which motivation, confidence, competence, and knowledge and understanding are at the heart of the disposition. It is how these elements combine and interact that enable an individual to make progress (or otherwise) on their physical literacy journey. These elements feed off each other, with each being as important as the other. The more movement experiences an individual has, the more effective, and far reaching, the cycle becomes and the more rewarding the journey.

One aspect where the journey metaphor is particularly helpful is in understanding that physical literacy is not a state that is reached and then persists throughout life. Physical literacy can be a quite fragile state and easily threatened. A careless hurtful comment; activities that are not developmentally appropriate; and lack of opportunity to learn and practise are just a few of the obstacles that can block the way. Consequently, the journey is not always straight forward (Whitehead, 2010; Taplin, 2011). It does not start at a set point and then move onwards and upwards in an effortless straight line. There are going to be twists and turns and setbacks and most certainly the journey will go into reverse, or come to a standstill, at some point during the life course. Consider the setbacks caused by illness, when the individual cannot participate; or the sudden awkwardness one feels when taking up a new activity; or when social pressures conspire against participation.

Having argued the case for accepting the journey metaphor, a dilemma arises when trying to record an individual’s progress. Whitehead (2013) strongly advises against the idea of ‘assessing’ physical literacy, fearing that individuals (particularly children) will be compared against each other or against some rigid, official national norm. The very fact that these are unique journeys rules out any direct comparison. However, recording the stories and analysing common themes and/or patterns is useful, particularly for identifying ways in which the individual can be guided along their way.

While quantitative methods of data collection can be useful to chart progress on a journey, qualitative methods provide wide opportunities for all elements of physical literacy to be considered side by side. This is apposite in respect of charting a physical literacy journey with the affective, physical and cognitive elements being all but inseparable. Indeed qualitative data collection provides an opportunity to look at individuals as a whole and to give meaning to their world (Creswell, 2007).

Research is underway which the uses the life history method to create stories which illustrate concepts of physical literacy and raises issues that need to be addressed (eg Taplin, 2010). The stories emerge from an interview process and can be used to chart an individual’s journey; to explain what has happened previously; how and why a person has taken a particular path; and crucially, how to guide that person in the right direction in the future.

One such story is that of Alphie, aged 25 years at the time of interview (Alphie, personal communication, November 11, 2012). His parents were both physically active and from the moment Alphie was born he had access to a world full of movement. Ball games, toddlers’ gymnastics, jumping in puddles, chasing the dog, learning to swim, were all everyday occurrences throughout infancy and childhood.

Alphie enjoyed a very positive physical education experience at school. A range of activities and a team of caring teachers gave him an exciting introduction to team games and sport. By the time he was fourteen, Alphie was playing at county level in both cricket and rugby. By the time he was sixteen he was playing rugby in the academy squad at a professional club. If one had taken a snapshot of Alphie’s physical literacy journey at any point up to the age of 23 years, an extremely positive physical literacy profile would have been seen – competent, confident and motivated, with physical activity (and sport in particular) at the heart of Alphie’s being.

Then disaster struck. At the age of 23 he broke his right leg whilst playing rugby; he smashed the fibia and tibia and had to have a rod inserted inside the bone, with bolts at the ankle and just below the knee. Recovery was slow and painful.

A year after his accident, Alphie tried to play rugby again, but the pain was too great. It suddenly dawned on him that he might never play the game he loved again. It felt as if his world had ended. Unable to play sport or to engage in any meaningful activity, Alphie became depressed and found temporary refuge in drink and pain killers. He put on weight and he walked with a pronounced limp. Everything in his life - work, relationships, sport - seemed to be at rock bottom. Then, seemingly out of the blue, he decided to spend a year in Australia, where he got a job that required him to be physically active. He began to swim and he started going to the gym. He lost weight. He then tried running and found he was pain free for the first time in two years. He found a new group of friends and became one of those outdoor Aussies, doing kickboxing in the park and having a kick about with a football. Life looks brighter and he is at peace with the world. Alphie’s physical literacy journey seems to be back on track.

Having captured the story, it is possible to plot the journey on a life history map. It is important to emphasise that this is not statistical information and the map (Fig 1) is not a graph. It is purely a visual representation across the timeline of the individual’s life.

The horizontal axis represents the age in years, with the colour coding showing the life stages. The vertical axis represents the interaction between the elements of motivation, confidence, competence, knowledge and understanding, in other words the essence of physical literacy. While qualitative methods were used to gather data across all elements of physical literacy it is judged that the end result is worthy of discussion. The horizontal line across the middle, is an imaginary one that represents the tipping point between being physically literate and physically illiterate. Whitehead (2013) suggests that if the individual fails to display one or more of the elements of physical literacy, then they are in danger of becoming physically illiterate and therefore the tipping point must exist. Likewise, there appears to be a trigger, or significant event, that causes the journey to change direction.

Figure 1: Alphie’s physical literacy map

If we look at Alphie’s physical literacy map, the twists and turns of his journey are clear to see. We could take one event, or one period of his life, the micro journey, and examine the context in more detail. We can make the point that despite having a positive physical literacy profile in childhood and adolescence, we never know what is going to happen next. The devastating injury, that no one could have predicted, resulted in Alphie’s physical literacy profile crashing and for a short period, we could certainly describe him as being physically illiterate – he lost motivation, confidence and competence; he was unable to value physical activity; and was unable to take the steps necessary to participate. The map also illustrates the moment Alphie took responsibility and began making decisions whereby he started heading in the right direction once more.

Perhaps the most striking aspects of Alphie’s journey, highlighted by the map, is not only the spectacular crash; but also the ability of this particular individual to re-start his journey. The message must be that there is always a way forward and that no matter what age, or how desperate the situation, the individual can make progress if the right conditions exist. Forces need to be in play which release the trigger. In Alphie’s case, the place physical activity had in his life prior to his injury and the positive journey he had previously experienced, ensured that he was able to find his way back onto the right path. The trigger seems to have been the weight loss which heralded a return to fitness, which in turn gave him the confidence to take responsibility for his progress. Perhaps it was just a matter of time – the time needed for him to fully recover from his injury. Fortunately, when the time was right, Alphie found himself amongst a new peer group which encouraged and cajoled him to re-engage.

In conclusion, Lakoff & Turner (1989) reflect on how frequently we use the ‘life as a journey’ metaphor and how comfortable we are with it. They suggest that it is natural to assume a purposeful life as being one with a series of paths towards set, or unknown, destinations, thus making life a journey. Whitehead (2013) frequently returns to the journey metaphor as she clarifies physical literacy. Examples include her observations that ‘journeys may stall on account of a range of personal circumstances’ and ‘journeys can re-start and flourish’. She explains that ‘each individual will be on their own personal physical literacy journey’ and that the important issue is that ‘individuals are making progress’ (Whitehead, 2010, p38). She advises that some individuals ‘may be travelling very slowly’ (2010, p39) but ‘even a small step on their individual journey is valuable and should be celebrated’ (2010, p39).

This article advocates the usefulness of the ‘physical literacy as a journey’ metaphor, as it both explains the concept and helps make it a reality. Furthermore, the article suggests life history is one way in which a better understanding of an individual’s physical literacy journey can be developed. By recording, retelling and mapping the story, we are able to track the individual’s journey, enabling sense to be made of the past, in order for progress to be made in the future.

References

1. Creswell, J. (2007). Qualitative inquiry and research design. London:Sage

2. Lakoff, G. & Johnson, M. (1980). Metaphors we live by. London:The University of

3. Chicago Press.

4. Lakoff, G. & Turner, M. (1989). More than cool reason: a field guide to poetic

5. metaphor. London:The University of Chicago Press.

6. Taplin, L. (2010). Physical literacy – the lifelong journey. Retrieved from http://www.physical-literacy.org.uk/taplin-spain-2010.php

7. Taplin, L. (2011). What is physical literacy? Primary Physical Education Matters, 6,1, pvii-viii.

8. Whitehead, M. with Murdoch, E. (2006). Physical literacy and physical education: conceptual mapping. Retrieved from http://www.physical-literacy.org.uk/ conceptualmapping2006-abstract.php

9. Whitehead. M. (2010). Physical literacy throughout the lifecourse. London:Routledge

10. Whitehead, M. (2013). Definition of physical literacy and clarification of related issues.

Contact

Liz Taplin
Institute of Education, Plymouth University
Drake Circus
Plymouth, PL4 8AA.
United Kingdom
Email liz.taplin@plymouth.ac.uk

http://www.icsspe.org/