BACKGROUND: The Physical Literacy in the Early Years (PLEY) intervention is a randomized mixed-methods controlled trial focused on embedding loose parts materials into the outdoor play spaces of regulated child care centres across Nova Scotia. The aim is to evaluate the efficacy of the PLEY intervention versus standard regulated childcare practice in influencing thoughts and behaviors of children, parents, and educators. METHODS: Participating early child care centres (n = 19) were randomly assigned to intervention or control sites. Intervention sites received loose parts kits at the beginning of the project while control sites received kits upon project completion. The kits included items such as rocks, tree cookies, balls, wood planks, tubes, tires, ropes, and pulleys. Children (n = 183 at baseline) had their physical activity (accelerometers) and movement skills (TGMD-3 and PGMQ) measured before and after the intervention. All centres provided responses to environmental surveys (Go NAP SACC and Site Context Questionnaire), and educators in intervention sites participated in focus group and photovoice sessions. Educators were also provided with a full day professional development opportunity (plus ongoing mentoring) focused on physical activity, physical literacy, outdoor play, risk-taking, and loose parts. Parents participated in an interview addressing active outdoor play, physical literacy, and attitudes towards risk taking during play. DISCUSSION: This study will provide a better understanding of how integrating loose parts materials into outdoor play spaces impacts children’s health, and the impact on educator and parent attitudes, beliefs, and understanding around physical literacy, active outdoor play and risk-taking during play.

There exists a general understanding that physical education (PE) is a means to create a physically healthy population. However, disagreements arise over primary practices within PE to achieve this end. The primary divergence is whether PE facilitators should primarily ensure participants exert a specific level of energy during class or develop their confidence, competence, knowledge, and motivation for meaningful physical activity (PA) participation outside of the PE classroom (referred to as physical literacy (PL)). This study uses structural equation modeling to examine associations between enjoyment of PA and minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) in PE class in grade 5 (mean age = 10) and participation in PA and feelings about PA 1 year later, in grade 6 (mean age = 11), in the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development (SECCYD, N = 1364). Enjoyment of PA in grade 5 predicted sport self-concept (β = 0.347, p ≤ 0.001), MVPA (β = 0.12, p ≤ 0.001), and enjoyment of PA (β = 0.538, p ≤ 0.001) in grade 6. These associations remained when including weekday MVPA performed in grade 5 as an indirect effect (β = 0.058, p ≤ 0.001). MVPA performed during PE in grade 5 was not associated with any PA outcomes in grade 6. Findings suggest PE instructors should prioritize PL development over maintenance of high energy expenditure during PE class for long-term MVPA.

Affective experiences have been shown to influence attitudes and future behaviors related to physical activity, but no studies have related these experiences to physical literacy or examined affective experiences in quality physical education (QPE). The aim of this study was to describe emotions experienced in a QPE context and relate those emotions to students’ physical literacy and self-esteem. A cross-sectional study of 145 4th and 5th grade students was surveyed after a single PE class on their emotional experiences (positive emotions: pride, enjoyment, and relief; negative, emotions: shame, anger, and boredom; aggregate emotional experience as the sum of positive and negative emotions) physical literacy (self-description and movement valuation) and self-esteem. In this QPE context, 73% of students reported only positive emotions, 26% mixed positive and negative emotions and 1% expressed only negative emotions. Pride and enjoyment were strongly co-occurring (89%). Among students expressing mixed emotions, 90% still yielded positive aggregate emotional experiences. Positive emotions have significant ( p < 0.001), moderate to strong positive correlations with physical literacy (rho = 0.65 pride, 0.50 enjoyment) and self-esteem (rho = 0.48 pride, 0.38 enjoyment), and negative emotions have significant ( p < 0.001), moderate negative correlations with physical literacy (rho = −0.47 shame, −0.30 anger, −0.32 boredom) and self-esteem (rho = −0.33 shame, −0.29 anger, −0.21 boredom). This study reveals strong positive emotional responses by students in a purported QPE context. The presence of mixed emotions with net positive aggregate experiences highlights the importance of consideration of both negative and positive emotions in movement contexts. Affective states have been proposed as key elements of physical literacy, and this study supports this through valence matched associations between both positive/negative affect with physical literacy and self-esteem.

At present, community-based movement experiences for children are heavily structured, highly prescriptive and sport-centric, with a near singular focus on development in the physical domain (e.g., performance-related and health-related fitness, sport-specific movement skills, etc.). The absence of consideration of psychosocial and creative domains in programming could impact the nature of the relationship between physical literacy and movement creativity. This pioneering study was designed to explore the associations between movement creativity and multiple physical literacy measures. A cross-sectional study of 125 fifth-grade children was performed with assessment of movement creativity and multiple physical literacy assessments of each child (self, parent, teacher and trained assessor). The study revealed no relationships between physical literacy measures and overall movement creativity, and limited relationships between specific movement competencies with Flow (r=-0.28, p<0.05 with manipulation) and Originality (r=0.21, p<0.05 with body control). Cluster analysis revealed a gradient of three clusters, with the lowest movement creativity levels associated with the highest motor competence and reports of the child’s physical literacy. These findings are consistent with community and school-based programming that highlights prescriptive development of physical competencies without intentional consideration of movement exploration and problem solving. The results of this study support the inclusion of movement exploration-based practices such as circus arts instruction, parkour and dance. Further interventional research is indicated to examine the impact of movement exploration programming on the movement creativity and physical literacy of children. Actuellement, les expériences communautaires menées sur le mouvement chez l’enfant sont extrêmement structurées, très normatives et axées sur le sport. Elles se focalisent presque exclusivement sur le développement physique (p. ex., performance et santé physiques, aptitudes motrices propres au sport, etc.). La non-prise en compte des aspects psychosociaux et créatifs dans le programme pourrait avoir des répercussions sur la nature de la relation entre capacités physiques et créativité de mouvement. Cette étude pionnière a été élaborée dans le but d’examiner les rapports pouvant exister entre plusieurs mesures de capacités physiques et la créativité de mouvement. Une étude transversale a été menée auprès de 125 enfants en 5e année de primaire durant laquelle la créativité de mouvement et différents aspects liés à leurs capacités physiques ont été évalués (par eux-mêmes, mais aussi par les parents, le corps enseignant et un·e évaluateur·rice qualifié·e). On constate qu’il n’existe aucun lien entre les capacités physiques mesurées et la créativité de mouvement globale. De plus, l’étude montre que le rapport entre les aptitudes spécifiques liées au mouvement et la fluidité (r = -0,28, p < 0,05 avec manipulation) et l’originalité (r = 0,21, p < 0,05 avec contrôle du corps) est limité. Une analyse typologique a mis en valeur un gradient de trois groupes, avec les niveaux de créativité de mouvement les plus faibles associés aux capacités motrices les plus élevées, ainsi que des rapports sur les capacités physiques de l’enfant. Ces conclusions sont en phase avec les programmes communautaires et scolaires qui mettent l’accent sur un développement normatif des aptitudes physiques, sans tenir compte de manière réfléchie de l’exploration du mouvement et de la résolution des problèmes. Ces résultats viennent appuyer la nécessité d’intégrer à l’enseignement des pratiques basées sur l’exploration du mouvement, comme les arts du cirque, le parkour et la danse. Il conviendrait de mener une recherche interventionnelle plus poussée afin d’examiner l’impact d’un programme d’exploration du mouvement sur les capacités physiques et la créativité de mouvement chez les enfants.

Background: Physical literacy, a multidimensional construct encompassing motivation, confidence, physical competence, and knowledge, is increasingly recognized as a critical determinant of lifelong movement. As a holistic construct, there is an opportunity to collaborative provide opportunities for physical literacy development in the many contexts that children move. As such, the purpose of this study was to examine the impact of a six-month multi-sectoral, multi-contextual physical literacy intervention implemented across home, school, and community contexts using a shared responsibility approach. Methods: A pre–post quasi-experimental design was employed with 686 children (mean age 10.5 ± 1.35 years) from intervention ( n = 397) and comparison ( n = 289) communities in Saskatchewan, alongside parent ( n = 429) and teacher participants ( n = 53). Physical literacy was assessed using the Physical Literacy Assessment for Youth (PLAY) tools, including measures of motor competence (PLAY fun), self-perception (PLAY self), parent perception (PLAY parent), and teacher perception (PLAY coach). A repeated measures mixed model was conducted as the primary analysis, with significance set at p < 0.05. Results: Results indicated a significant intervention effect for motor competence ( p < 0.001), with the intervention group demonstrating significant improvements while the motor competence of the comparison group declined over time. Increases were observed across multiple domains, including locomotor skills, balance, and movement vocabulary. No significant group by time effects were observed for parental perceptions of children's physical literacy ( p = 0.173), however there was a time effect which warrants further exploration ( p < 0.001). No significant intervention effects were observed in children's self-perceived physical literacy ( p = 0.784) or teacher-reported outcomes between groups ( p = 0.987). Conclusion: These findings highlight the potential of a collaborative, community-wide approach to enhance key components of physical literacy, particularly motor competence and parent perceptions. The lack of change in self-perception measures suggests a need for stronger emphasis on psychological and affective domains within future intervention design. Overall, this study provides novel evidence supporting multi-sectoral, multi-contextual strategies as a promising pathway for fostering physical literacy development in children and underscores the importance of coordinated efforts across home, school, and community contexts.