Physical Literacy (Mis)understandings: What do Leading Physical Education Teachers Know about Physical Literacy?

Physical literacy is a term and concept that has, in recent years, been gaining in both usage and popularity in many Western physical education (PE) contexts. This has been particularly true within Canada, as well as within... [ view full abstract ]

Physical literacy is a term and concept that has, in recent years, been gaining in both usage and popularity in many Western physical education (PE) contexts. This has been particularly true within Canada, as well as within the United Kingdom, the United States, Australia, and New Zealand. However, the initial introduction of physical literacy as well as its subsequent uptake has not been without disagreement—marked at times by uncertainty, confusion, and resistance. Still, we believe that given the central and privileged place of physical literacy within the Canadian PE context, it would certainly be ideal for PE teachers to share a common understanding of it. Recognizing physical literacy’s burgeoning popularity and our belief about the importance of such a common understanding amongst PE teachers, we recently completed a qualitative case study in which we interviewed 12 lead PE teachers from all four Atlantic Canadian provinces, whereby we aimed to gain knowledge about their understanding of physical literacy. More specifically, our research question was, “How do Atlantic Canadian provincial PE leaders define and understand physical literacy?” Our results suggest that these leaders are largely unable to articulate conceptions of physical literacy that are in line with contemporary perspectives espoused by Margaret Whitehead and the International Physical Literacy Association. This paper, then, describes their physical literacy (il)literacy. These descriptions are offered as they relate to four themes: 1) physical literacy means (almost) the same thing as physically educated, 2) physical literacy means moving in many ways and places, 3) physical literacy means knowing the language of movement, 4) and physical literacy means fundamental movement skills. In light of our findings, we also offer a discussion about these (mis)understandings about physical literacy.