Teacher's understanding of early childhood physical literacy: thematic analysis based on teaching experience from an Indonesian perspective

Abstract

ABSTRACT Background Early childhood is a critical period for the formation of physical literacy from an early age. Teachers play an important role in supporting the growth of children's physical literacy. Unfortunately, in Indonesia, the understanding of the concept of physical literacy has yet to fully permeate early childhood education. There are no special regulations from the government to include physical education in early childhood education so that children can achieve physical literacy. Traditionally in Indonesia, teachers provide physical activity games with the aim being only to master children's gross motor skills. Therefore, the presentation of physical activity through play provided by teachers needs attention to understand children's physical literacy. These teachers can help inform the provision of physical education for early childhood education in supporting children's physical literacy in the future. Purpose This research aims to reveal the experiences of early childhood education teachers in Indonesia who are used to providing physical activity learning through games. Through this experience, this research also aims to explore teachers’ meanings regarding children's physical literacy. Method Through a phenomenological study in accordance with the physical literacy theoretical framework, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 13 early childhood education teachers in West Java, Indonesia. A sample of teachers was taken and interviewed from 5 schools that met the criteria, namely that they were used to teaching physical activity through play for the purpose of developing children's gross motor skills. To add to the description of teachers’ experiences, photo-elicitation interviews were conducted. Top-down thematic and bottom-up thematic analysis was carried out to analyze all the data that had been obtained. Results Physical literacy is interpreted as something related to children's health, meaning physical activity carried out by young children to keep their bodies fit and healthy so they can live their lives independently. Pedagogical experience from an educational background other than physical education is recognized as an obstacle to understanding physical literacy comprehensively. Thus, the teching learning practices carried out in the field only emphasize the meaning of children's physical motor activity. In accordance with the teachers’ experience, the teaching they often do every day is only giving physical activity’ games, this is assumed by them to support the physical literacy of early childhood. Motor physical activities that lead to physical literacy in early childhood are carried out in open field areas or playgrounds. The safety of teaching motor and physical activities for children is also a concern for teachers. Conclusion The findings from this study suggest that teaching experience with an educational background other than physical education can limit the understanding of physical literacy, even if the teachers are used to teaching physical activity in an early childhood education environment. The long-term implications may be that if early childhood education and physical education work together, they will be able to inspire more meaningful experiences in teaching physical activities that contribute to the formation of children's physical literacy.