Physical Literacy From the Start! The Need for Formal Physical Literacy Education for Early Childhood Educators

Abstract

The early years of childhood development are a significant time for the acquisition and application of skills that foster motor development, cognitive understanding, and social well-being. However, there are gaps in knowledge of and practical skills for developing physical literacy within early childhood educator preparation programs. This article explains why training early childhood educators in physical literacy is crucial and how to do so.

The early years of childhood development are a significant time for the acquisition and application of skills that foster motor development, cognitive understanding, and social well-being. Physical literacy is often defined as “the motivation, confidence, physical competence, knowledge and understanding to value and take responsibility for engagement in physical activities for life” (International Physical Literacy Association, 2017). The construct of physical literacy is important to establish healthy behaviors in the early years, because these formative years have the potential to establish behaviors that will continue through the life span (Agard et al., 2021).

In 2023, over 56% of Canadian children between the ages of 0 and 5 years were registered in licensed or unlicensed childcare settings (Statistics Canada, 2023). An opportunity thus exists to capitalize on establishing healthy behaviors in this age group through the creation of environments and experiences that will develop the whole child.

Educator Preparation Is Varied

Educators’ health knowledge and practices play an important role in constructing a health-promoting environment, and the ability to act on this knowledge contributes to the development of a child’s relationship with physical activity for a lifetime (World Health Organization, 2016). However, early childhood educators’ training preparation is varied, ranging from some high school education to a bachelor’s or graduate degree. This is a critical gap, because educators with some college education show improved adherence to physical activity best practices compared to those without college education (Loth et al., 2019). Moreover, physical literacy concepts increase in complexity as they encompass the integration of motivation, development of competence, and an understanding of structural movement skills to support the growth and development of a young child’s physical literacy. In Canada, no early childhood education certificate or degree programs offer standalone physical literacy or motor development courses (Buckler & Bredin, 2021). Generally, though educators may value the broad concept of physical activity, there are gaps in knowledge of and practical skills for physical literacy within educator preparation programs.

Grounded Knowledge for Well-Being

Training early childhood educators in physical literacy is crucial for several different reasons, including:

• Educators create learning opportunities for participants, and such opportunities can dictate the experience of the participants and influence continued engagement.

• The quality of educators can influence participant engagement and learning (Hernaiz-Sánchez et al., 2021).

The role of the educator is extremely important in providing a safe space for individuals to engage in diverse learning activities. Roetert and colleagues (2017) stated that “proper understanding of the concepts of physical literacy is necessary in order to design programs based on students’ experience, skills, age and maturity level” (p. 58). One of the challenges of developing physical literacy knowledge is the skills gap. If educators do not understand physical literacy holistically (the four domains: physical, cognitive, social, and emotional), they cannot effectively develop ways to shape movement experiences and create play environments to support physical literacy development for young children. The key here is the concept that intentional learning occurs through intentional planning. The development of physical literacy can coincide with early learning curriculum programs such as Flight: Alberta’s Early Learning and Care Framework (Makovichuk et al., 2014), which focus on skill acquisition through child-led curricular play. Balancing play and creating opportunities for proficient motor development builds toward a well-balanced, physically literate child.

A second challenge of the physical literacy knowledge gap is a focus on future injury prevention. Considering motor development through a lens on injury prevention promotes the sequencing of movement that aligns with body mechanics to support activity patterns that can be sustained throughout a lifetime. Teacher preparation in physical literacy could showcase to educators the correct mechanical principles of movement. Educators could take this learning and apply it in a play-focused approach while also redirecting the child to execute the movement correctly. To achieve this, it is imperative that early childhood educators understand the basic mechanical principles of movement to ensure that participants are safely executing movement skills. A lack of knowledge may hinder a child’s ability to execute movements correctly, which may hinder the development of their confidence and competence, both of which are linked to future participation.

Learning Opportunities

Increased educator training that is consistent with the tenets of physical literacy has the potential to strongly align with SHAPE America – Society of Health and Physical Educators’ Initial Physical Education Teacher Education Standards (SHAPE America, 2017). It might be argued that educators could access physical literacy materials and content available online. However, this approach presents barriers such as the time to access, interpret, and consider change. In practice, very little time is available during the workday for early childhood educators to pursue this task. This is compounded by the fact that varying levels of education and knowledge in this community may contribute to barriers in pursuing this level of inquiry. For educator learning to be successful, it must address the delivery of new knowledge in conjunction with mechanisms to interweave new concepts into daily practice. Short-term programs, such as workshops, are commonly utilized for inservice educators within the early learning field; however, workshops have been shown to result in poor incorporation of knowledge into professional practice compared to professional development programs of longer duration (Egert et al., 2018). In addition, centers in rural or remote settings have reduced access to professional learning opportunities due to geographic constraints to support these communities from a health equity perspective.

We have found success in supporting inservice educators by providing a 12-week well-being course that incorporates the tenets of physical literacy concepts (CHEERS in Early Learning, n.d.) and components of SHAPE America’s Initial Physical Education Teacher Education Standards (SHAPE America, 2017; Figure 1). The program is delivered with a combination of synchronous and asynchronous mediums accompanied by health promotion coaching to inspire and facilitate inservice educators in implementing evidence-informed, high-impact practices that support child development. A continued connection with educators after the program is maintained through blog articles with physical literacy topics (e.g., Ali & Lafave, 2021).

Figure 1. SHAPE America’s Initial Physical Education Teacher Education Standards.

The standards align with the philosophy of physical literacy and reinforce the opportunity to develop motor skills, competence, belonging, and motivation thr­ough physical activities. Such experiences and opportunities exist well before K–12 education and should be developed in early childhood. Supporting and developing consistent educational opportunities for early childhood educators to nurture the construct of physical literacy is paramount in promoting lifelong healthy behaviors in the early years.

Mind the Gap

Much of the work in childhood physical literacy has focused on school-age children, which has left a gap in the preschool years. Integration of physical literacy foundational knowledge and skills in early childhood educator programs, as well as meaningful professional development opportunities targeting inservice educators, can spark intentionality toward the enhancement of program delivery. A strong physical literacy grounding for educators positions the early childhood education setting as a key environment where play experiences are influenced by physical literacy principles that prepare preschoolers for success in the K–12 system and subsequently enhance the potential of developing the affinity for lifelong physical activity.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Lynne M. Z. Lafave

Lynne M. Z. Lafave ([email protected]) is a professor in the Department of Health and Physical Education in the Faculty of Health, Community and Education at Mount Royal University, in Calgary, AB, Canada.

Nadine Van Wyk

Nadine Van Wyk is an assistant professor in the Department of Health and Physical Education in the Faculty of Health, Community and Education at Mount Royal University, in Calgary, AB, Canada.