Development of a German Physical Literacy Assessment for Children in the Context of Health Promotion—An Explorative Approach

Leonie Krenz*, Martin Grauduszus, Marlen Klaudius, Dr. Isabel Stolz, Stefanie Wessely, Christine Joisten

*Corresponding author for this work

Publication: Contribution to journalJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

Abstract

Addressing physical literacy (PL) has become increasingly relevant to counteract sedentarybehaviour in children and youth. We developed an assessment tool to measure and evaluate thepromotion of individual PL and its four subdomains: motivation and confidence (the affectivedimension), physical competence (physical dimension), knowledge and understanding (cognitivedimension), and participation in physical activity. Within this cross-sectional study, we tested567 children aged 6–12 years from four primary schools that differed in socioeconomic status (SES).A subsequent exploratory factor analysis conducted to examine the conformity revealed a five-factorstructure. The five factors explained 39.8% of the total cumulative variance. Children with a lowSES yielded lower scores in all subdomains except participation in physical activity. This effect wasmost pronounced in motor skills (p < 0.001, r = 0.28). Among the children with a low SES, 16.9% wereoverweight and 17.4% were obese, compared to 11.5% and 5.4%, respectively, for those with a highSES (p < 0.001). In conclusion, although the assessment tool was largely in line with the postulatedstructure, further adjustments are necessary in terms of participation and motivation. Nevertheless,this holistic view of PL, taking SES into account, should enable the focused promotion of health andhealth literacy.

(PDF) Development of a German Physical Literacy Assessment for Children in the Context of Health Promotion—An Explorative Approach. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/366054159_Development_of_a_German_Physical_Literacy_Assessment_for_Children_in_the_Context_of_Health_Promotion-An_Explorative_Approach [accessed Dec 07 2022].
Original languageEnglish
Article number1908
JournalChildren (Basel, Switzerland)
Volume2022
Issue number9 (12)
Pages (from-to)1-18
Number of pages18
ISSN2227-9067
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 06.12.2022

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