M A R K D O N A L DN O V E M B E R 5 T H , 2 0 1 4

Self-Perception of Ability for New Physical Activities and Physical Literacy

in Children

Overview

IntroductionReview of LiteraturePurposeHypothesisMethodologyAcknowledgements

Introduction

What is physical literacy?Why is it important?How do we assess it?

“A physically literate individual moves with poise, economy and confidence in a wide variety of physically challenging situations” (Whitehead, 2001, p. 131).

Review of Literature

Children are able to develop a perception of how proficient they are at certain tasks (Eccles et al., 1993)

Perceived competence influences physical activity choices (Bell, 2007; Lintunen et al., 1999)

Review of Literature

Transfer of fundamental movement skills is essential for trying new physical activities (Rosalie & Muller, 2012)

“The physically literate individual is perceptive in 'reading' all aspects of the physical environment, anticipating movement needs or possibilities and responding appropriately to these, with intelligence and imagination.” (Whitehead, 2001)

Purpose

To examine the relationship between a child’s self-perception of their ability to try new physical activities to their overall physical literacy.

Hypothesis

It is hypothesized that there will be a positive correlation between perceived ability to try new physical activities and overall physical literacy scores.

Study Design

Cross-sectional studyApproximately 200 participants between ages 8 to 12

yrsResearch ethics approval received from St.FX University,

the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario, and the Strait Regional School Board.

Methodology

Canadian Assessment of Physical Literacy (HALO, 2014)Examines 4 domains of physical literacy

Participants

Participants: student in grades 4-6 (8-12 yrs old) in schools from the Strait Regional School Board

Grade 4 students enrolled in Fit4Life program at St. FX University

Informed consent, informed assent and health screening form to be completed prior to testing

Physical Competence

FITNESSGRAM PACER 15/20m shuttle run (Merideth & Welk, 2010)

Obstacle course (HALO, 2014)

Obstacle Course Layout

Physical Competence

FITNESSGRAM PACER 15/20m shuttle run (Merideth & Welk, 2010)

Obstacle course (HALO, 2014)

Grip strength -Smedley Grip Tester, CSEP protocol (CHMS, 2010)

Isometric plank hold (Boyer et al., 2013)

BMI z-score percentile (WHO 2007, HALO 2014)

Waist circumference- CSEP Protocol (Ardern et al. 2004)

Sit and reach test- CSEP protocol (CHMS 2010)

Daily Behaviours

Daily step count- Stepscount Piezo SC-StepMVX pedometer (Tudor-Locke et al., 2004)

Sedentary time-Knowledge of Physical Activity Questionnaire (HALO, 2013)

Moderate to vigorous physical activity levels- Knowledge of Physical Activity Questionnaire (HALO, 2013)

Knowledge and Understanding

Knowledge of Physical Activity Questionnaire (HALO, 2013)

Motivation and Confidence

Knowledge of Physical Activity Questionnaire (HALO, 2013)

“What's more like me?” (Hay, 1992)

Scoring

Comparison

Question three, section six of Knowledge of Physical Activity Questionnaire

Statistical Analysis

Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient between the overall physical literacy scores and the response to question three, section six will be calculated using SPSS (IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 20.0)

Level of significance is set at p ≤ 0.05

Questions

Acknowledgements

My thanks to my advisor, Dr. Angie Kolen and my second reader, Dr. Melanie Lam for sharing their advice,

guidance and expertise