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| Foreword | No.65 October 2013 |

Introduction

Welcome to the ICSSPE Bulletin on Physical Literacy. I hope that you find the papers informative and easy to read. I am delighted that so many people have followed up my suggestion that they write a paper – far more than I had anticipated! However this willingness to write evidences a wide acceptance of the concept and an interest to share ideas and developments from a range of perspectives. Very many thanks to all the authors and to ICSSPE for offering us this opportunity to bring together current thinking on physical literacy.

Physical Literacy defined as presented in the second paper in this Bulletin has developed over the last 20 years, being presented for the first time at an IAPESGW Congress in 1993 in Melbourne. Prior to this the concept had been referred to by a number of writers but had not been widely debated or interrogated.

Physical Literacy as defined in this Bulletin is not a concept that has been randomly selected to provide a rationale for the value of physical activity. Far from it, the concept has been systematically developed, building on the philosophical foundations of Existentialism and Phenomenology. One of the motivations behind the development of physical literacy is to identify the significance of our embodied dimension and physical activity in human life as we know it. With this significance secured we can assert that physical activity has educational validity. The suffix of ‘literacy’ was never chosen to give the subject a ‘back-door’ entreé into the ‘academic’ areas of the curriculum. Literacy as used nowadays in many contexts signals the way any human capability can promote human interaction with the world and, via this interaction, enhance quality of life.

While much of the work shared in this Bulletin is school focused it is important to remember that physical literacy is a life-long journey and has relevance in all stages of life – from cradle to grave.

While most of the papers are written against the background of ‘Western culture’, the concept is applicable to all – notwithstanding customs and culture. One of the next tasks in relation to physical literacy is to work with colleagues across the world and assist them in shaping advocacy that is sensitive to their way of life. While the concept was developed in England, it is excellent to have evidence that it is being seriously considered across the world. Particular interest has been shown in Canada and Australia as well as the Americas and Europe.

As indicated above, physical literacy is relevant to all people in all countries although it needs to be incorporated appropriately into different societies. That said, to preserve the integrity of the concept it is very important to stress that the key elements of physical literacy must be addressed. The definition identifies the elements of motivation, confidence, physical competence and knowledge and understanding. Whatever nuances are needed for application in any context, these four elements must be addressed. Omission of any one or having a sole focus on any one will not be promoting physical literacy. While physical competence is at the heart of physical literacy, development limited to this element alone will not necessarily foster physical literacy.

Physical literacy has seen exciting development over the last ten years. A national seminar was held in UK in 2008 and this was followed up by four regional seminars. Two International Conferences ran in 2011 and 2013. There are plans to re-launch the website to share ideas and research. Scholarly writing and research are both increasing, with growth in publications and in the number of students studying physical literacy as the focus of doctoral and post-graduate work.

Alongside these developments it is interesting to read work by colleagues from other disciplines such as neuro-science, cognitive psychology and sociology that clearly support much of the underpinning rationale for the importance of capitalising on the embodied dimension/motile potential as a significant characteristic of the human condition.

This Bulletin is another step towards encouraging debate and discussion around physical literacy. It is hoped that the contents will elicit further contributions and ideas from colleagues across the world, who work in physical education and sport and related areas.

The Bulletin is set out in Sections

Section 1 covers the background to the concept and sets out the definition, identifying key aspects over which there is some misunderstanding. This is followed by three papers on the value of the concept of physical literacy. Section 2 explains that physical literacy is relevant cradle to grave and is best seen as a journey. Section 3 provides some answers to the question ‘How can physical literacy be fostered?’ Papers set out the implications for practitioners of adopting physical literacy as their goal in leading work in physical activity/pursuits – whether this is in a school, coaching or leisure activity context. One writer then reminds readers that physical literacy is a much broader concept than simply the development of fundamental movement skills and the final paper explains that while pedagogical implications are very important, content implications should also be taken seriously.

Section 4 looks at the importance of promoting physical literacy in the early years and shares a programme developed by the British Heart Foundation. Section 5 develops this area and includes three case studies on work with younger learners. Section 6 focuses on the secondary years with a particular interest in fostering motivation. Most papers include reference to case studies while others are wholly concerned with sharing a small scale investigation in school. Section 7 alerts readers to the importance of physical literacy in the adult years and Section 8 looks at particular populations. We regret that there is not a paper looking specifically at individuals with a disability. There is some good work going on in this field and references are given for those interested to follow this up.

Section 9 includes two papers that aim to relate physical literacy to other concepts, namely health and creativity, while Section 10 contains two papers on the relationship between physical literacy and coaching. Section 11 comprises three papers that look in different ways at the role of physical literacy in initial teacher training in UK, at primary, secondary and postgraduate level. Section 12 focuses on charting progress in an individual’s physical literacy journey. There is a range of initiatives being taken in this filed and there are papers from Canada and Northern Ireland.

Section 13 is most welcome in that it reports on physical literacy across the world. Many of these authors presented at the 2013 International Physical Literacy Conference and agreed to re-present their paper for this Bulletin. The first three papers are from UK and report on curriculum developments in Wales, the work of Sport Northern Ireland and a new programme in Scotland. This is followed by papers on the developments in The Netherlands, The Czech Republic, Sweden and Malta. Papers from South Africa and Australia recount how physical literacy is being developed alongside particular philosophies and colleagues from Canada share the extensive work taking place in their country. The last four papers are from the Americas. A colleague from Venezuela shares experiences of working to introduce physical literacy while three writers from USA each take a different perspective on physical literacy in their country. These authors address the relationship between health and physical literacy, teacher-learner interaction and Continuing Professional Development.

The authors would welcome feedback on their work and look forward to hearing from readers from all over the world. As we develop our physical literacy website we plan to have an area in which ideas and research can be shared. There is still a great deal of work to be done to embed physical literacy across the life-span and to accrue the benefits this offers.

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