Physical Literacy

Throughout the Lifecourse

Margaret Whitehead, Margaret Whitehead

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2010
• ISBN:
  9781134010677
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Éducation
• Subtopic: Éducation physique

• What is physical literacy?
• What are the benefits of being physically literate?

The term 'physical literacy' describes the motivation, confidence, physical competence, understanding and knowledge that individuals develop in order to maintain physical activity at an appropriate level throughout their life. Physical literacy encompasses far more than physical education in schools or structured sporting activities, offering instead a broader conception of physical activity, unrelated to ability. Through the use of particular pedagogies and the adoption of new modes of thinking, physical literacy promises more realistic models of physical competence and physical activity for a wider population, offering opportunities for everyone to become active and motivated participants.

This is the first book to fully explore the meaning and significance of this important and emerging concept, and also the first book to apply the concept to physical activity across the lifecourse, from infancy to old age. Physical Literacy – explaining the philosophical rationale behind the concept and also including contributions from leading thinkers, educationalists and practitioners – is essential reading for all students and professionals working in physical education, all areas of sport and exercise, and health.

Part I
Philosophical background

1
Introduction

Margaret Whitehead

Motivation to develop the concept of physical literacy

There have been four principal influences that have motivated the development of the concept of physical literacy presented in this book. First and most importantly, the philosophical writings of existentialists and phenomenologists which give significant support for the centrality of embodiment in human existence. Arguing from their particular standpoints, these philosophers see embodiment as fundamental to human life as we know it.¹ Embodiment, in their terms, affords us interaction with our environment and provides the foundation for the development of a wide range of human capabilities. These views were first expressed in the early twentieth century and, interestingly, there is now, some 75 years later, considerable evidence from different fields of science that endorses this view of the fundamental importance of our embodiment in human existence, not least in respect of development in the early years of life. This book provides an opportunity to share some of these more recent findings.

Second was the perception that, despite the views identified above, the importance of movement development in early childhood was being forgotten. The focus that predominated in the early years of education was directed principally towards the development of language, numeracy and social skills. That movement was the foundation for much of child development was not recognised and was not getting the attention it deserved. There is now a great deal of empirical research, for example, as in cognitive science, that supports the fundamental importance of movement development.

Third is the widespread unease about the growing drift away from physical activity as part of our lifestyle, particularly in developed countries. A decrease in physical activity can, unfortunately, exacerbate the problems of obesity and poor physical and mental health. Philosophical underpinning supports the view that physical activity can enrich life throughout the lifecourse. There had previously been a view that physical activity was most appropriate for younger people. Research has now shown that this is not the case, and that continued involvement in physical activity can have significantly beneficial effects for adults, including the older adult population.

Fourth, there was a growing unease with the general direction that physical education in school in many developed countries, including the UK, was taking – this being very much towards high-level performance and elitism. One result of this focus was the tendency to neglect those pupils who did not have outstanding ability. The notion of participation as valuable in itself was becoming less evident in much work in school, with the consequence that the non-gifted were becoming disillusioned with the subject and often looked for opportunities not to take part. The views of philosophers from the schools of existentialism and phenomenology were convincing in advocating the value of physical activity for all – not just the most talented in this area; hence the need to adopt a new perspective on physical education and to encourage the profession to review its priorities.

Why ‘physical literacy’: the need to develop the concept

Over the past ten years during which the concept of physical literacy presented in this book has been developed, discussed and shared with many interested parties, the need for developing an additional concept in the field of physical activity that identifies its core purpose and value has been questioned.² The underlying reason for this need grew from coming to understand the work of certain philosophers who adopted a particular perspective on our embodied dimension. Looking at human life from a monist perspective they put forward a strong case for the centrality of our embodied nature in very many aspects of human existence. Embodiment influenced life not only as an instrument that can be used for overtly functional purposes but also as an underlying capability that contributes to, for example, cognitive and emotional development. Our embodiment therefore could not be, on their terms, dismissed as a somewhat inferior adjunct to human life. Taking this view of an essentially embodied existence, it was evident that there was no adequate word to describe the very broad potential that the embodied dimension has to contribute to enriching the lives of every individual throughout the whole of the lifecourse; hence the identification of the concept of physical literacy as a significant human capability.

Descriptions of effective deployment of our embodied dimension currently in use include such terms as physically able, strong, able-bodied, skilful, fit, healthy, good at sport, well coordinated and physically educated. All these terms focus on the ‘body’ as an object and on the deployment of the ‘body’ as object or instrument in functional situations such as manual work and in the sports context. None of these descriptions looks beyond our ‘body’ as a machine and most point to a specific group of talented people with the inference that others cannot match up to the description. Moreover, these descriptions seem to implicate that the responsibility for developing our embodied potential rests purely with practitioners in the fields of physical education and sports coaching. Attention to this aspect of our personhood was, therefore, not of interest to, or the responsibility of, those outside these professions.

As a result of the terminology used, descriptions of embodied potential tended to be focused mainly on school-age children, young people and those with particular talent. That every individual was endowed with a valuable embodied capability was ignored. Indeed there was a sort of finality about reaching any of the above goals, such as ‘good at sport’ or ‘physically educated’. It appeared that these were end states that, if not achieved by a certain age or stage, were beyond an individual’s reach. In short, most terms used with reference to our embodied capability were dualistic, focused on the young, had a finality about them and were, to some extent, elitist. In contrast to these descriptions physical literacy is described as a capability all can develop. It is a universal concept applicable to every individual whatever their age or physical endowment. The short definition of physical literacy in this text explains:

As appropriate to each individual’s endowment, physical literacy can be described as the motivation, confidence, physical competence, knowledge and understanding to maintain physical activity throughout the lifecourse.

Building from the definition above, with the underlying support of some schools of philosophy and scholars in other fields, the notion of physical literacy can:

• identify the intrinsic value of physical activity;

• overcome the need to justify physical activity as a means to other ends;

• provide a clear goal to be worked towards in all forms of physical activity;

• underwrite the importance and value of physical activity in the school curriculum;

• refute the notion that physical activity is an optional extra of only recreational value;

• justify the importance of physical activity for all, not just the most able in this field;

• spell out a case for lifelong participation in physical activity;

• identify the range of significant others who have a part to play in promoting physical activity.

Is ‘physical literacy’ an appropriate term?

The term ‘physical literacy’ was decided on as being the most appropriate for a number of reasons. First, there was nothing exclusive about the term. Every individual has, by nature, a physical or embodied dimension. Second, the notion of ‘literacy’ was also helpful as it is a concept commonly used to describe a human characteristic that it is accepted is within the grasp of most people. Third, the term retained the connection with our physicality but moved the focus away from a narrow performance base to include a more interactive flavour. This is very much in line with the philosophical thinking which argued strongly that we are, as human beings, in constant dialogue with our surroundings.

It is not surprising, however, that in the melting-pot of lively debate the concept of physical literacy has been questioned. Both the words ‘physical’ and ‘literacy’ have been contested. ‘Physical’ was seen to be perpetuating the idea of the ‘body’ as an object, and ‘literacy’ was seen as being too closely related to the ability to read and perhaps not a term that it was appropriate to use in relation to our embodied capability.

Alternatives to ‘physical’ are, first, ‘movement’. While it is the case that movement education has often been suggested as an alternative to physical education, the term ‘movement’ applies to a myriad of non-human phenomena and thus it has not, generally, been seen as appropriate – although it has been used on occasion to describe the physical activity undertaken in education in the early years. Other alternatives to ‘physical’ are the philosophical terms ‘embodied’ and ‘motile’. Resultant terms would be either ‘embodied literacy’ or ‘motile literacy’. While these might be acceptable terms in the context of philosophy, they were seen as inappropriate for general use, being unfamiliar and somewhat esoteric in nature. Thus, while accepting that the continued use of the term ‘physical’ has unfortunate associations with dualism, rather than helping to signal the monist view that as humans we are a whole, it was seen to be the most acceptable term to describe our embodied capability.

Suggested alternatives to ‘literacy’ were ‘competence’, ‘ability’ and ‘skill’. However, ‘physical competence’, ‘physical ability’ and ‘physical skill’ would seem to leave the concept very much tied to pure physicality and to perpetuate dualistic attitudes. While physical competence forms a key element of physical literacy, the above terms would seem to focus very much on the instrumental use of our embodiment and do not encompass the range of attributes that make up the concept.

The concept of ‘literacy’ is seen as most appropriate as it:

• moves away from a dualistic approach;

• encompasses doing, interpreting, responding and understanding, thus aligning with monism;

• has holistic associations that readily absorb aspects of human cognition and emotion;

• signals an interplay with our surroundings, which is a critical aspect of the philosophical thinking on which the concept of physical literacy is based;

• has non-exclusive connotations, indicating that everyone can achieve this attribute at their own level.

The concept of literacy is more readily appreciated as relevant to the individual as an essentially holistic embodied being. Physical literacy shares some aspects of notions discussed by other writers such as Best (1978: 58) and Arnold (1979: 17) who refer, respectively, to ‘kinaesthetic intelligence’ and ‘intelligent action’, and is, I believe, a much richer and more far-reaching concept than physical competence or physical skill.

It is interesting to note that the term ‘physical literacy’ is already being used by a range of groups. One of the reasons behind the production of this book is to set out the full definition of the concept in order to clarify its nature. In some cases the term is being used to pick out a particular aspect of the concept. For example, there are instances where physical literacy is being used as a term to describe fundamental movement skills or physical fitness. Another use of the concept focuses on the ability to ‘read a game’, and yet another use highlights the ability to talk about, describe and write about movement. Each of these interpretations of physical literacy is of value in that each picks out an element of the concept; however, none encompasses the totality of the meaning of being physically literate. As will be seen in Chapter 2, these aspects of physical literacy are included, respectively, in sections B, C and F of the full definition. In another adoption of the concept it has been used to describe a goal for children from 0 to 12 years of age to achieve, rather than an attribute that is pertinent to the full lifecourse. While experiences at this early age are particularly important, the nature of physical literacy means that this capability should be nurtured beyond the earlier years, through maturity and old age.

Questions have also been asked as to how physical illiteracy could be described. From one perspective every human is a physical being and exists only because each is, by nature, embodied. In this context everyone, by definition, has and employs physical competence. However, physical literacy only develops when this dimension is deployed beyond what might be called subsistence level. Physically illiterate individuals will avoid any involvement in physical activity in all situations wherever alternatives are possible. This could include not walking short distances, avoiding tasks such as house cleaning and gardening, preferring quick methods of preparing a meal and always using the remote control to turn on an electrical appliance. Individuals will not be motivated to take part in structured physical activity and will therefore not achieve any refinement or development of their physical competence. They will have no confidence in their ability in the field of physical activity, anticipating no rewarding feedback from such involvement. Individuals will have a very low level of self-esteem with respect to this aspect of their potential and will avoid all inessential physical activity in order to guard against failure and humiliation.

The structure of the book

The book is designed to introduce readers to the concept of physical literacy and to make a case for the adoption of this notion as a goal for all to achieve and maintain throughout life. The philosophical foundations for the concept are explained, as well as recent findings from within the scientific field. This is followed by a consideration of physical literacy in the context of wider issues such as the development of self-esteem, the problem of obesity and the challenge of individual differences. Implications for physical activity work in school and beyond are debated, as are the needs of particular populations.

The authors and co-authors of these chapters are specialists within their own fields who have found the concept of physical literacy relevant to their work. The book is divided into three parts. Part I considers the philosophical background to the approach taken throughout the book and thus the rationale behind the concept. Chapter 2 presents and discusses in detail the concept of physical literacy. Chapter 3 looks in more depth at the philosophy that underpins the concept, with particular reference to the views of existentialists and phenomenologists. The role of our embodied dimension in perception and action is explained. The fundamental view here is that human embodiment is a defining aspect of being and sets the parameters to many aspects of existence. Chapter 4 considers the significance of physical literacy for every individual, whatever their embodied endowment, age or the parent culture within which they live. Chapter 5 proposes aspects of physical competence that can be developed as individuals proceed on their physical literacy journey and then looks at the philosophical arguments that support the importance of effective relationships with the world. Chapter 6 presents the philosophical arguments surrounding the view that physical literacy plays a central role in the development both of a sense of self and of effective interpersonal relationships. It also considers the place of propositional knowledge in the concept.

Part II considers ways that physical litera...