Physical Literacy and Teacher Professional Development

Abstract

Spanning different countries and research groups, physical literacy has been recognized as a valuable approach for aligning and optimizing physical education, physical activity and sports promotion. Physical literacy refers to an individual's capacity for sustaining a physically active lifestyle. Applying physical literacy as a concept to elementary physical education proposes a new, more inclusive, and potentially more effective approach to promoting lifelong engagement in physical activity. This article explores the role of professional development for generalist classroom teachers and specialist physical education teachers in nurturing physical literacy within physical education teaching practice, by identifying the desired characteristics of effective physical literacy professional development. The professionals at the forefront of delivering physical education, the teachers, need support in understanding the complexity of the concept of physical literacy and how it can be nurtured within their practice. Providing effective and responsive professional development for teachers is essential if children are to become more physically active over their lifetime.