Physical literacy is described as the motivation, confidence, physical competence, knowledge and understanding to value and engage in a physically active lifestyle. As such, it is expected that those who have greater physical literacy would be more likely to obtain the health benefits offered by habitual physical activity. A theoretical model and assessment battery, the Canadian Assessment of Physical Literacy (CAPL), for the assessment of childhood physical literacy had been proposed in theory but validity data were lacking. The purpose of this study was to explore validity evidence for the CAPL among children in grades 4 to 6. CAPL validity was evaluated through three analyses that utilized cross-sectional data obtained through local schools in Eastern Ontario, Canada. A confirmatory factor analysis compared the data to the theoretical model. Patterns of association between self-reported age and gender and the CAPL total and domain scores were examined using regression models. Teacher ratings of participants’ knowledge, attitude and physical activity competence were compared to assessment results. The CAPL was completed by 963 children (55 % female) in grades 4, 5 and 6. Children were 8 to 12 years of age (mean 10.1 years), with 85 % of children approached agreeing to participate. A confirmatory factor analysis using data from 489 children with complete raw scores supported a model with four domains: engagement in physical activity (active and sedentary), physical competence (fitness and motor skill), motivation and confidence, and knowledge and understanding. Raw domain scores followed expected patterns for age and gender, providing evidence for their validity. Interpretive categories, developed from age and gender adjusted normative data, were not associated with age indicating that the CAPL is suitable for use across this age range. Children’s gender was associated with the physical competence, motivation and engagement in physical activity domain scores, indicating that further research is required regarding the gender adjustment of the raw CAPL scores. CAPL domain and total scores were statistically significantly associated with teacher ratings of the child’s motivation, attitudes, fitness, skill and overall physical activity. CAPL offers a comprehensive assessment of engagement in physical activity, physical competence, motivation and confidence, and knowledge and understanding as components of childhood (grades 4 to 6, 8 to 12 years) physical literacy. Monitoring of these measures enhances our understanding of children’s physical literacy, and assists with the identification of areas where additional supports are required.

The primary aim of this study was to develop an assessment of the fundamental, combined, and complex movement skills required to support childhood physical literacy. The secondary aim was to establish the feasibility, objectivity, and reliability evidence for the assessment. An expert advisory group recommended a course format for the assessment that would require children to complete a series of dynamic movement skills. Criterion-referenced skill performance and completion time were the recommended forms of evaluation. Children, 8-12 years of age, self-reported their age and gender and then completed the study assessments while attending local schools or day camps. Face validity was previously established through a Delphi expert (n = 19, 21% female) review process. Convergent validity was evaluated by age and gender associations with assessment performance. Inter- and intra-rater (n = 53, 34% female) objectivity and test-retest (n = 60, 47% female) reliability were assessed through repeated test administration. Median total score was 21 of 28 points (range 5-28). Median completion time was 17 s. Total scores were feasible for all 995 children who self-reported age and gender. Total score did not differ between inside and outside environments (95% confidence interval (CI) of difference: -0.7 to 0.6; p = 0.91) or with/without footwear (95%CI of difference: -2.5 to 1.9; p = 0.77). Older age (p < 0.001, η 2 = 0.15) and male gender (p < 0.001, η 2 = 0.02) were associated with a higher total score. Inter-rater objectivity evidence was excellent (intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) = 0.99) for completion time and substantial for skill score (ICC = 0.69) for 104 attempts by 53 children (34% female). Intra-rater objectivity was moderate (ICC = 0.52) for skill score and excellent for completion time (ICC = 0.99). Reliability was excellent for completion time over a short (2-4 days; ICC = 0.84) or long (8-14 days; ICC = 0.82) interval. Skill score reliability was moderate (ICC = 0.46) over a short interval, and substantial (ICC = 0.74) over a long interval. The Canadian Agility and Movement Skill Assessment is a feasible measure of selected fundamental, complex and combined movement skills, which are an important building block for childhood physical literacy. Moderate-to-excellent objectivity was demonstrated for children 8-12 years of age. Test-retest reliability has been established over an interval of at least 1 week. The time and skill scores can be accurately estimated by 1 trained examiner.

The Canadian Assessment of Physical Literacy (CAPL) assesses the capacity of children to lead a physically active lifestyle. It is comprised of a battery of standardized assessment protocols that reflect the Canadian consensus definition of physical literacy. The Royal Bank of Canada Learn to Play - Canadian Assessment of Physical Literacy study implemented the CAPL with 10,034 Canadian children (50.1% female), 8 to 12 years of age. Feedback during data collection, necessary changes identified by the coordinating centre, and recent data analyses suggested that a streamlined, second edition of the CAPL was required. The purpose of this paper is to describe the methods used to develop the CAPL second edition (CAPL-2). The larger dataset created through the RBC–Learn to Play CAPL study enabled the re-examination of the CAPL model through factor analyses specific to Canadian children 8 to 12 years of age from across Canada. This comprehensive database was also used to examine the CAPL protocols for redundancy or variables that did not contribute significantly to the overall assessment. Removing redundancy had been identified as a priority in order to reduce the high examiner and participant burden. The “lessons learned” from such a large national surveillance project were reviewed for additional information regarding the changes that would be required to optimize the assessment of children’s physical literacy. In addition, administrative changes, improvements, and corrections were identified as necessary to improve the quality and accuracy of the CAPL manual and training materials. For each domain of the CAPL, recommended changes based on the factor analyses, qualitative feedback and theoretical considerations significantly reduced the number of protocols. Specific protocol combinations were then evaluated for model fit within the overarching concept of physical literacy. The CAPL-2 continues to reflect the four components of the Canadian consensus definition of physical literacy: Motivation and Confidence, Physical Competence, Knowledge and Understanding, and engagement in Physical Activity Behaviour. The CAPL-2 is comprised of three Physical Competence protocols (plank, Progressive Aerobic Cardiovascular Endurance Run [PACER], Canadian Agility and Movement Skill Assessment [CAMSA]), two Daily Behaviour protocol (pedometer steps, self-reported physical activity), and a 22-item questionnaire assessing the physical literacy domains of Motivation and Confidence, and Knowledge and Understanding. Detailed information about the CAPL-2 is available online ( www.capl-eclp.ca ). The CAPL-2 dramatically reduces examiner and participant burden (three Physical Competence protocols, two Daily Behaviour protocols, and a 22-response questionnaire; versus eight Physical Competence protocols, three Daily Behaviour protocols and a 72-response questionnaire for the original CAPL), while continuing to be a comprehensive assessment of all aspects of children’s physical literacy using the Canadian consensus definition of this term. Like the original, the CAPL-2 continues to offer maximum flexibility to practitioners, who can choose to complete the entire CAPL-2 assessment, only one or more domains, or select individual protocols. Regardless of the assessment selected, scores are available to interpret the performance of each child relative to Canadian children of the same age and sex. All of the protocols included in the CAPL-2 have published reports of validity and reliability for this age group (8 to 12 years). The detailed manual for CAPL-2 administration, along with training materials and other resources, are available free of charge on the CAPL-2 website ( www.capl-eclp.ca ). All CAPL-2 materials and resources, including the website, are available in both English and French.

Physical literacy is an emerging construct in children’s health promotion, and may impact their lifelong physical activity habits. However, recent data reveal that only a small portion of Canadian children are regularly physically active and/or meet sedentary behaviour guidelines. To our knowledge, no study has investigated the association between physical literacy and movement behaviour guidelines. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between physical literacy scores in Canadian children who meet or do not meet physical activity and sedentary behaviour guidelines. Children (n = 2956; 56.6% girls) aged 8–12 years from 10 Canadian cities had their physical literacy levels measured using the Canadian Assessment of Physical Literacy, which consists of four domains (Physical Competence; Daily Behaviour; Knowledge and Understanding; and Motivation and Confidence) that are aggregated to provide a composite physical literacy score. Physical activity levels were measured by pedometers, and sedentary behaviour was assessed through self-report questionnaire. Analyses were conducted separately for each guideline, comparing participants meeting versus those not meeting the guidelines. Comparisons were performed using MANOVA and logistic regression to control for age, gender, and seasonality. Participants meeting physical activity guidelines or sedentary behaviour guidelines had higher physical literacy domain scores for Physical Competence and for Motivation and Confidence compared to those not meeting either guideline (both p < 0.0001). Participants had increased odds of meeting physical activity guidelines and sedentary behaviour guidelines if they met the minimum recommended level of the Physical Competence and Motivation and Confidence domains. Significant age (OR 0.9; 95% CI: 0.8, 0.9), gender (OR 0.4; 95% CI: 0.3, 0.5) and seasonality effects (OR 1.6; 95% CI: 1.2, 2.2 spring and OR 1.7; 95% CI: 1.2, 2.5 summer, reference winter) were seen for physical activity guidelines, and age (OR 0.8; 95% CI: 0.7, 0.8) and gender effects (OR 1.7; 95% CI: 1.4, 2.0) for sedentary behaviour guidelines. Knowledge and Understanding of physical activity principles was not related to guideline adherence in either model. These cross-sectional findings demonstrate important associations between physical literacy and guideline adherence for physical activity and sedentary behaviour. Future research should explore the causality of these associations.

The term physical literacy is relatively new, and its definition, conceptual underpinning, how it is measured, how to change it, and its relationship with holistic health and wellness across the life span are a few of many foundational issues that lack consensus. At present, there are more questions than answers. The purpose of this article is to highlight 10 important research questions related to physical literacy with the hope of fueling future research activity and debate. Input was sought from international experts and practitioners on priorities and research gaps related to physical literacy. This list was supplemented by personal experience and research priorities identified in published manuscripts. From these various sources, the top 10 research questions related to physical literacy were compiled. Research related to physical literacy is in its infancy, and many important, even fundamental research questions and priorities remain unanswered. Research needs are summarized within 4 themes: monitoring physical literacy, understanding the physical literacy journey, enhancing physical literacy, and the benefits of physical literacy. Specific research questions relate to identifying measurable aspects of physical literacy and how they change across cultures and throughout the life span, as well as understanding the individual and environmental factors that describe the physical literacy journey and are effective targets for interventions. Physical literacy is increasingly recognized as the foundation for a healthy active lifestyle; however, robust research demonstrating its constitution, its relationship with health-related outcomes, and intervention strategies for its improvement remains to be completed.

The current physical literacy level of Canadian children is unknown. The Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) Learn to Play – Canadian Assessment of Physical Literacy (CAPL) project, which is anchored in the Canadian consensus statement definition of physical literacy, aimed to help establish the current physical literacy level of Canadian children. The CAPL was used to assess the physical literacy (and component domains: Daily Behaviour, Physical Competence, Knowledge and Understanding, and Motivation and Confidence) of Canadian children aged 8–12 years. Data were collected from 11 sites across Canada, yielding a sample of 10,034 participants (5030 girls). Descriptive statistics by age and gender were calculated and percentile distributions of physical literacy scores, including each domain and individual measure, were derived. The mean age of participants was 10.1 ± 1.2 years. Total physical literacy scores (out of 100) were on average 63.1 ± 13.0 for boys and 62.2 ± 11.3 for girls. For boys and girls respectively, domain scores were 19.9 ± 4.7 and 19.3 ± 4.1 (out of 32) for Physical Competence; 18.6 ± 7.9 and 18.5 ± 7.4 (out of 32) for Daily Behaviour; 12.7 ± 2.8 and 12.2 ± 2.6 (out of 18) for Motivation and Confidence; and 11.8 ± 2.8 and 12.2 ± 2.6 (out of 18) for Knowledge and Understanding. Physical Competence measures were on average 28.1 ± 8.4 cm (sit-and-reach flexibility), 33.5 ± 9.4 kg (grip strength, right + left), 23.4 ± 14.1 laps (Progressive Aerobic Cardiovascular Endurance Run [PACER] shuttle run), 61.8 ± 43.8 s (isometric plank), 19.0 ± 3.8 kg/m2 (body mass index), 67.3 ± 10.8 cm (waist circumference), and 20.6 ± 3.9 out of 28 points for the Canadian Agility and Movement Skill Assessment (CAMSA), with scores for boys higher than girls and older children higher than younger children for grip strength, PACER, plank, and CAMSA score. Girls and younger children had better scores on the sit-and-reach flexibility than boys and older children. Daily pedometer step counts were higher in boys than girls (12,355 ± 4252 vs. 10,779 ± 3624), and decreased with age. These results provide the largest and most comprehensive assessment of physical literacy of Canadian children to date, providing a “state of the nation” baseline, and can be used to monitor changes and inform intervention strategies going forward.