Assessing physical literacy with school-aged children in occupational therapy practice: An exploratory qualitative study

Abstract

Introduction: Physical literacy (the physical, psychological, social and cognitive capacities needed for movement and physical activity) is arguably important to occupational therapy yet is not explicit within current practice. This study aimed to understand how occupational therapists can engage with the physical literacy concept.

Method: Eight paediatric occupational therapists were recruited by purposive sampling. Participants completed up to three semi-structured interviews to understand perspectives on physical literacy, introduce a novel pictorial assessment and to seek feedback on the assessment after trialling. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed using reflexive thematic analysis.

Results: Sixteen interviews were conducted. Four themes were identified: 'Foreign tongue' (occupational therapists have an understanding of physical literacy but used different terminology); 'Sounds very OT oriented' (illustrating the connection between physical literacy and occupational therapy); 'We need the child's voice' (measure highlights the child's perspective); and 'Contemporary, useful BUT not for all' (measure had utility for some children but was dependant on child's condition).

Conclusion: Occupational therapists can apply the physical literacy construct to traditional models and core concepts. The assessment can be used in paediatric occupational therapy practice supported by clinical reasoning, although future tool iterations may need to accommodate some children with disability.

Keywords: Assessment; clinical practice; paediatric; physical activity.

Figure 1.

The Australian physical literacy framework: domains (Australian Sports Commission, 2020). Reproduced with permission from ‘Australian Physical Literacy Framework’, by the Australian Sports Commission (2020), https://www.sportaus.gov.au/physical_literacy. Copyright 2020 by the Australian Sports Commission.

Figure 2.

Example item of Physical Literacy in Children Questionnaire survey (Sport Australia, 2021). Reproduced with permission from ‘Physical literacy in children questionnaire: user guide’, by Sport Australia (2021). https://www.sportaus.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0009/994248/Physical-Literacy-in-Children-Questionnaire-User-Guide.pdf. Copyright 2021, Sport Australia.