Development and Validation of an Aquatic Literacy Questionnaire for Elementary School Children: Risk Perception

In the Aquatic Literacy for All Children (ALFAC) research project, three core dimensions are linked to each other: (a) aquatic skills (both actual and perceived), (b) psycho-social features (autonomous motivation, enjoyment & engagement, confidence) and (c) a knowledge aspect (risk perception).
In this contribution the focus is on the development of a tool to assess risk perception in an indoor swimming pool and an outdoor water recreation context. Based on two separate overview drawings with each 10 numbered activities in the water, children have to indicate how dangerous they perceive each illustration (5 point Likert scale with smiley). This gives information about risk awareness on 20 situations of which an international expert group identified 10 as dangerous.
This knowledge dimension was also explored in an earlier study on the development and validation of a tool
for individual aquatic risk management among children aged 6 to 12 years (De Martelaer et al., 2022). In this study, 10 aquatic situations (5 indoor swimming pool and 5 outdoor) were presented one by one to the child, by showing these pictures as a comic strip without text, followed by an interview. Four questions were used to gather information: (a) What do you see in the drawing? (b) How do you feel when this happens with you? (c) What is the likelihood this happens to you? (d) What would you and your environment (peers & adults) do in this situation (anticipation/solution)?
The development and the face validity of both instruments will be explained and discussed. We end up with a pedagogical approach stimulating a balanced curriculum concerning a fun and safe aquatic program for elementary school children with developmental appropriate beneficial risks during aquatic recreation.