CAHPERD PAPER MAY 2007

 

Physical Literacy as the goal of Physical Education with particular reference to the needs of girls and young women.

Dr. Margaret Whitehead

The paper will provide a short philosophical background to the concept of physical literacy. Following a presentation of the definition of the concept, the particular needs of girls and young women with respect to developing physical literacy will be outlined and discussed. Finally there will be a discussion of some of the practical implications of adopting physical literacy as the fundamental goal of physical education.

Five sections:-

Developing Physical Literacy as a philosophical challenge
  1. Brief philosophical background to concept
  2. Provisional definition of Physical Literacy

    3.  

    Developing Physical Literacy for all young people
  3. From Physical Education to Physical Literacy
  4. The challenge of developing physical literacy in girls

5. Implications for content and method of movement work in School

As a life long advocate of physical education, and someone who has, and still is, involved in a range of physical activity, it has always seemed to me that there was more to being physically active than just having

a refreshing change from academic work

an opportunity to let off steam

or just having fun.

I have found my involvement in physical activity profoundly fulfilling and rewarding - although I have never reached the dizzy heights of international sport.

1. Philosophical background

Intrigued to understand my own experience, I was directed to the work of some philosophers who articulate a particular stance towards the nature of our human condition.

These philosophers, existentialists and phenomenologists, hold two very important views, as far as I am concerned. Firstly they reject Cartesian dualism and secondly they are committed to the pivotal role played by our embodiment in life as we know it. For them we do not have a body, rather we are embodied.

To give you a flavour of their views, I would like to share with you a few of their beliefs. I hope that you will agree with me,

that these views are thought provoking

that they throw new light on our area of work

and that they can add weight to our advocacy of the value of physical activity.

 

I can only give you a few here, more are in my full paper and many others can be found in my other papers and my references. Please see the Physical Literacy website for these. The address will be on the last power point slide.

So, what do these philosophers say?

With regard to monism - the refutation of dualism (that is the body and mind being separate)- they argue cogently in establishing the following positions:

For human reality, to be is to act ( Sartre 1957 p 476)

Prior to the Cartesian I think, there is an I can (Burkitt 1999 p 74)

It is not ‘I think therefore I am’ but ‘I can therefore I am’

The mind is inherently embodied ( Lakoff and Johnson 199 p 3)

The concept of a person is logically primitive and is not derived from mind and body( Strawson quoted in Gill 2000 p 18)

We do not have to struggle with putting mind and body together to create a person.

Each one of us is a person, comprised of inter-dependent and inter-related dimensions and capabilities.

It is no surprise that it is all but impossible to find a way of explaining how body and mind collaborate, because the mind is as it is because it is embodied, and the body is as it is, because it is a dimension of a ‘minded’ person.

As Gallagher (2005 p 248) writes ‘Before you know it, your body makes you human and sets you on a course in which human nature is expressed in intentional action and interaction with others’.

 

With respect to the pivotal role played by our embodiment in life as we know it, these philosophers work to establish the following conclusions, which follow on from the notion of the intricate relationship between mind and embodiment:-

The perceiving mind is the incarnate mind (Merleau Ponty 1962 p 3)

Reason is not disembodied but arises from the nature of our brains, bodies and bodily experience (Lakoff and Johnson 199 p 4)

Mind, body and world thus emerge as equal partners in the construction of robust, flexible behaviours. (Clark 1997 p45)

As Gallagher ( 2005 p 247) says ’…. nothing about human experience remains untouched by human embodiment: from the basic perceptual and emotional processes that are already at work in infancy, to a sophisticated interaction with other people; from the acquisition and creative use of language to higher cognitive functions’.

 

If we focus for a moment on cognitive functions, it is very interesting to see what some of these writers say. I have selected three quotes here:-

Prior to thought and representation, then, there is a primordial coexistence between the body and its world, which grounds the possibility of developing conscious awareness and knowledge.(Lakoff and Johnson 1999 p566)

Indeed there is now a large amount of evidence from a variety of studies and disciplines to show that the body through its motor abilities, its actual movements, and its posture, informs and shapes cognition. (Gallagher 2005 p8)

 

Cognitive development, it is concluded, cannot be usefully treated in isolation from issues concerning the child's physical embedding in, and interactions with, the world. A better image of child cognition (indeed of all cognition) depicts perception, action and thought as bound together in a variety of complex interpenetrating ways.

(Clark 1877 p36)

Thus the basis of meaning is not to be located in the rules that order cognition, nor in the grammatical structure of linguistic sentences, but the bodily pattern and order of active perceptions. (Burkitt 1999 p 85))

Thinking is consummately wedded to bodily life; indeed it begins in, and with, bodily experience. In the most fundamental sense it is modelled along the living lines of our bodies .(Sheets-Johnstone1994 p 327)

Our embodied dimension is the ongoing axis of thought and knowing. (Gill 2000 p 130)

'...what we call 'mind' only exists because we have bodies that give us the potential to be active and animate within the world, exploring, touching, seeing, hearing, wondering, explaining; and we can only become persons and selves because we are located bodily at a particular place in space and time, in relation to other people and things around us.’ (Burkitt 1999p 12)

These philosophers also argue strongly that our embodiment is central to our developing a sense of self, a sensitive awareness of others and the ability to interact effectively with others. The notion of the beginnings of the development of self awareness via a ‘mirror-image’ in early childhood has received a good deal of coverage. However Burkitt and Gallagher go much further than this.

 

 

 

For example

Burkitt (1999 p76) writes:-

The original sense of 'I' is the 'I can', a practical sense of the body's possibilities, and therefore the sense of identity possessed by humans is not based on disembodied thought, nor in early visual representation of the self. Instead, the sense of self we develop is primarily based on the feel we have of our body and the way it connects us to the world.

and Gallagher(2005 p3) says:-

In some fashion, quite obviously, the human person is embodied in human form and matter. The human body, and the way it structures human experience, also shapes the human experience of self, and perhaps the very possibility of developing a sense of self. If the self is anything more than this, it is nonetheless and first of all this, an embodied self.

He goes on to say (p9) that ‘It may even be possible to say that bodily movement, transformed onto the level of action, is the very thing that constitutes the self.

 

He also writes (p26) Furthermore, it is important to note that our beliefs and attitudes towards our bodies, even if non-conscious, will have an effect on how we perceive our bodies and the bodies of others. In this sense, the body image is not inert or simply an ideational product of cognitive acts; it plays an active role in shaping our perceptions.

With reference to our work he writes (p144) Exercise, dance, and other practices that affect motility and postural schemas can have an effect on the emotive evaluation of one’s own body image. In these studies, subjects who improve in neuromuscular co-ordination, strength, and endurance, or who experience increased co-ordination, balance, agility, and improved posture through exercise, gain a perception of body competence and achieve a higher degree of satisfaction with their own bodies and motor capacities. Thus changes in the control of movement associated with exercise alter the way that subjects emotionally relate to and perceive their bodies. It is not difficult to imagine that such positive effects can change one’s attitudes toward and perception of the surrounding world.

Gallagher develops these ideas further in relating them to the role of embodiment in interpersonal relationship and writes:-

Children do not simply observe others; they are not passive observers. Rather they interact with others, and in doing so they develop further capabilities in the context of those interactions .(p228)

and

The understanding of the other person is primarily neither theoretical nor based on an internal simulation. It is a form of embodied practice.(p208)

 

This is a complex area based on recent research in neuroscience, covered in more detail in my paper read at IAPSWG in Edmonton in 2005.

What I have understood from these philosophers is that our embodied dimension is not an insignificant aspect of our human nature - a mere machine, that can easily be relegated to a position of having little value other than 'housing' our mind - but it is the very fabric out of which life is fashioned.

Interrogating these views, our embodiment has at least two key roles :-

 

The quality of life, to which exercise of our embodied dimension contributes, goes way beyond simple absence of disease or the enjoyment of playing sport with others - which is not to deny the benefits of either.

Attention to our embodied dimension is not a disposable added extra to education, not a waste of precious time in school, not a trivial pursuit.

Attention to our embodied dimension is a critical aspect of education to which all are entitled.

 

 

2. Definition of Physical Literacy

My study in recent years has been to marry these philosophical views with what is happening in education. Critically important seemed to be that every pupil should have a personally rewarding experience that motivates him or her to continue with physical activity after leaving school. All should leave compulsory education with an attitude to physical activity that opens doors.

 

As reading and writing - what is called literacy - opens innumerable doors in life, and the management of figures - numeracy - is the springboard for a range of opportunities, so all should develop a literacy in movement which motivates them to establish a life-long habit of taking up options in one or more areas of physical activity.

I judged that current practices in physical education and school sport, were not always successful in providing this, and so I looked for another direction for our work. To this end I have begun to draw up and define the concept of what I have called physical literacy. (Although I am not the first person to have used this term) See handout.

In short physical literacy can be defined as the ‘motivation, confidence, physical competence, understanding and knowledge to maintain physical activity at an individually appropriate level, throughout life’.

In more detail:-

Physical literacy can be described as the ability and motivation to capitalise on our motile potential to make a significant contribution to the quality of life.

As humans we all exhibit this potential, however its specific expression will be particular to the culture in which we live and the motile capacities with which we are endowed.

I want to argue that it is a universal concept, but I have to recognise the influence - both of the social practices which surround an individual, and the fact that everyone’s embodiment is different.

An individual who is physically literate moves with poise, economy and confidence in a wide variety of physically challenging situations.

The individual is perceptive in ‘reading’ all aspects of the physical environment, anticipating movement needs or possibilities and responding appropriately to these, with intelligence and imagination.

I would want to include here not just movement in a PE/Sport/Dance context, but also all movement involved in daily life.

A physically literate individual has a well established sense of self as embodied in the world. This together with an articulate interaction with the environment engenders positive self esteem and self confidence.

Sensitivity to and awareness of our embodied capacities leads to fluent self expression through non-verbal communication and to perceptive and empathetic interaction with others.

With respect to the development of positive self esteem - it is very likely that we have all seen how confidence in embodied abilities can have a far reaching effect on a pupil’s total self esteem and self confidence. There is also some evidence that enhanced mastery, in the physical domain, even if this is at a modest level, can affect performance and achievement in other areas of the curriculum.

Regarding more general interpersonal relationships, I would see physical literacy as contributing to general social interaction. Physical Literacy is not an attribute that is of benefit just in the limited confines of physical activity.

I have, I believe, included non-verbal communication prematurely in this paragraph. This aspect of motility needs further study as Gallagher makes a strong case for gesture to be treated somewhat separately from what might be called ‘instrumental’ movement. This is my next task, to look into the affective areas involving movement – being both non-verbal communication and dance.

In addition the individual has the ability to identify and articulate the essential qualities that influence the effectiveness of his/her own movement performance, and has an understanding of the principles of embodied health, with respect to basic aspects such as exercise, sleep and nutrition

Physical literacy, I argue, must incorporate a rational, informed grasp of our human situation.

……………….

I am currently working on two fronts – the philosophical – developing the concept of Physical Literacy and – the practical - applying these ideas to work in schools. Now move on to my third section:-

 

3. From Physical Education to Physical Literacy

I want to make a strong case for the development and nurturing of Physical Literacy to be the fundamental goal of Physical Education. In a sense dropping the notion of being Physically Educated and refocusing our work towards every child having a sound foundation in respect of their individual Physical Literacy.

There is a danger that, in school, there is a drive to achieve an end state of being ‘Physically Educated and this is too easily interpreted as simply achieving the mastery of a prescribed set of skills. These skills are usually realised within a narrowly defined set of activities. The intent and reality of physical education can therefore become to produce able gymnasts, games players, dancers and swimmers. Following from this there is the danger of teachers , teaching, for example, gymnastics or swimming, rather than teaching young people.

With the intent of physical education as the nurturing of physical literacy there would need to be a move away from a prescribed activity-centred performance model, to a person centred participation model. Experience within this aspect of the curriculum would be focused on becoming physically literate, through a realisation of embodiment in its widest experiential sense.

The constituents of the definition of physical literacy given above should be addressed with the goal of all young people having the motivation to continue with physical activity – a motivation founded on the enhanced self confidence and self realisation they have experienced in physical activity settings in their childhood and youth.

I want to make it abundantly clear that the development of Physical Literacy is not to be interpreted as an attack on Physical Education, or indeed an alternative to Physical Education. As I set out in the PL and PE Conceptual Mapping Article I argue that PE has a vital and unique role to play in the development of PL. The concept of PL provides a well founded, sound and clearly supportable justification for all movement work in school. Conceptually the relationship is that the development and maintenance of physical literacy is a fundamental goal of physical education.

The difference between the two concepts can be simply stated by describing physical literacy as a personal attribute that has life-long significance, and physical education as a school based experience during compulsory education.

 

4. The challenge of developing physical literacy in girls

Two years ago at the IAPESGW Congress in Edmonton Canada, I was challenged by a delegate with respect to the particular problems that girls face in physical activity/sport area and thus in respect of developing physical literacy. I have written a full paper on this area and this is on the website. Here I would like to share some of the key issues I discuss.

It is a well known fact that as girls move into adolescence they are inclined to lose motivation for physical activity. This is attributed broadly to their not wanting to look hot and sweaty with untidy hair, and not wanting to look muscular and thus unfeminine. Being a successful athlete (in the broadest sense) is not generally seen as a goal for girls at this age. I believe this attitude arises from particular pressures/aspects of current Western Society.

Firstly there are the numerous aspects of our culture that are riddled with sex-stereotyped expectations. From the earliest age girls are treated differently from boys. They soon learn that they must be especially careful when they are in situations that include an element of risk. For example while brothers climb trees, race around and jump from heights, they are restrained in case they hurt themselves – or even get dirty. They are taught to pay attention to their appearance and to behave appropriately. These messages are conveyed to them at first in the home but they are quickly reinforced by the attitudes of society at large – particularly schools. School life is permeated with sexist procedures. ‘Can I have 4 strong boys to move the scenery’ Indeed Pugsey et al (1996) observe that the school plays a key role in the social production of adolescent bodies. It is made clear from the start that boys and girls are different and in many ways there is an undercurrent that girls are less capable. It is presumed that this attitude stems from our patriarchal society - as Simone de Beauvior (1949) stated women are the Second Sex. Deeply ingrained in our society is the superiority of men, their need to maintain this position and their prescription that the place of women is to be attractive partners for them and to care for their children. Women are there for the benefit of men.

The second aspect arises directly from the first and is situated within the area of physical activity. Generally girls are seen as weaker physically, in a sense physically handicapped in relation to the boys. This point is brought out very well in the work of Iris Young – Catching Like a Girl (1990). She also argues that girls and women tend to see their embodiment as a statement of ‘I am’ rather than an expression of an ‘I can.’.

One result of this situation is that girls often have less confidence in their physical ability, develop low self esteem in respect of this area of work and feel very self conscious about being seen to be failing.

Physical education for girls can become a nightmare in adolescence. These pupils have learnt to feel that the most important thing for them is to be attractive to boys, they have also learnt that they are likely to be less than competent at physical activity. In our lessons we specify that they wear unattractive clothes, behave in unladylike ways –

scrambling, climbing, rushing about, and display their suspect ability. We even require them to do this with boys in mixed lessons and furthermore preside over a regime that overtly draws attention to their embodiment in all its inadequacy and unfemininity.

Girls are in a no win situation, if they participate with enthusiasm they are open to the ridicule of other girls and to deprecating comments from boys. If they do not participate they are criticized and even punished by teachers and the school. It is not surprising that they develop a range of avoidance strategies. That is not to deny that there are some people (for example all of us here) who have turned their backs on the narrowly defined role for women in Western Culture. These women have not only risked the dangers of negative attitudes of others to their becoming athletes, but have indeed developed their self concept and self-esteem partially through their involvement in physical activity.

The corollary of this is that it is far harder to promote physical literacy in girls than in boys. (Hence the addendum to the definition in Appendix 1) As a result many girls are deprived of the opportunity of realizing their potential in this area and of opening an avenue of lifestyle choices that can be profoundly meaningful, rewarding, beneficial and enriching. I find it unacceptable that culture works to create this situation. Attitudes are so deep seated that not only do girls not realize why they are reacting as they are, they even encourage peers to do likewise. And mothers are often also involved in the plot.

There is no easy solution. Understanding the situation fully can help. Being aware, as physical education teachers, of how girls are experiencing our work should create a more empathetic ambience to lessons. Our goal must be to open girls’ eyes to the fact that it is acceptable to embrace a number of persona in our culture. Yes, their relationships with boys and men is important, but so is the development of their own individual unique potential. As Talbot (1993) writes ‘Teachers should be aware of the culturally learnt millstones’ that the girls carry with them and indeed the millstones they carry themselves.

Developing confidence in their embodied dimension and physical capabilities promotes all round self–respect and self-confidence in women and can encourage them to be more assertive, pro-active and project-determining. They should view their embodiment as a vibrant, versatile and resourceful attribute with which to express themselves. This confidence can literally open up the world for women and challenge the view that it is a man’s world.

While this can be seen as subversive in the context of a patriarchal society, physical literacy is a right of every individual and it is a denial of human freedom to inhibit its development.

The development of physical literacy can make a valuable contribution to the emancipation of women in twenty-first century western culture. It can empower women to be themselves and to celebrate and express their potential.

 

5. Implications for content and method of movement work in School

In order to promote physical literacy in all pupils, content will need to

A. enable all to realise motile aspects of physical literacy as indicated above

that would include coverage of, inter alia:-

i) body management itself with only gravity to contend with

ii) moving in different environments

iii) moving in relation to fixed obstacles, manipulating objects during movement, moving in response to moving objects

iii) moving in relation to others

B. include work that helps pupils to understand the nature of movement and its contribution to health

C. be broad to cater for all and be relevant to opportunities for physical activity throughout life.

There is a special case here for considering the interests of girls in curriculum planning.

 

Each of the above sections warrants detailed consideration and a group of us are working on this.

For example in relation to A i) we suggest the following attributes that relate to poise, economy and confidence:-

The attention given to the movement attributes signalled in A as well as constituents of B and C above, needs to be planned within a clear structure.

Colleagues and I are working on an outline of such a curriculum. Our current thoughts have resulted in a modular structure for Foundation, KS1 and KS2. We are looking at six types of modules

Body management

Manipulating objects

Confidence in the Outdoors

Moving with Others

My Movement

Exploring Movement across the Curriculum

Planning my own module.

These are being designed not only to cover the range of movement capacities mentioned above, but also to embrace the use of language, working with others, creativity, self assessment, decision making and issues concerned with health and well being. It is planned that the modules will give clear guidance without being narrowly prescriptive. The range of physical activity contexts in which the modules could be delivered will be proposed.

 

The raison d’etre of the outline is not to develop proficiency in specific physical activities but to foster the development of a basic grasp of a wide range of movement capacities, an appreciation of the significance of movement in many avenues of life and a motivation to accept the exciting and rewarding challenges that taking part in physical activity can provide.

While the content and the organisation of the content is of key importance nothing will be gained, Physical Literacy will not be developed unless the teaching methods used and the teacher approach adopted are sensitive to the needs of the embodied pupils with whom they are working.

I cannot stress too much the integral nature of their embodiment to children, and the enormous amount of care we need to take in asking them to exercise this most personal aspect of themselves in so public a forum.

I would argue that while the capacity to find physical activity profoundly rewarding is common to all, attention directed to this dimension of an individual has the potential to be experienced as embarrassing and humiliating.

Methods will need to:-

The teacher will need to be

There is a particular need for teachers to be aware of the experiences of many girls, and of some boys, who do not thrive in our environment particularly in a competitive team situation.

The teacher is patient, caring and empathetic, but is also challenging, demanding and sets high standards.

Overall work in the physical area must be carried out in lessons where enjoyment comes from success and from the actual experience of mastery, maybe at a modest level. The sheer joy of successfully managing one's embodied dimension is hugely rewarding. It is an experience open to all. Progress and achievement are available to all, at every level. The development of self-confidence and self-respect are palpable in such lessons. These sessions do not encourage truancy but promote participation.

 

To conclude..

Activity centred on our embodied dimension is a powerful holistic experience, taking us back to our roots.

How right Sheets-Johnstone (2005 p 254) is, to write:-

A living body is too alive with knowledge, with affect, with nonverbal understandings and capabilities. It is too alive to itself, to the world, and to a growing repertoire of powers. She then argues against those who say ‘It must indeed be shut up’.

No, we will not shut it up.

Developing Physical Literacy is a crucial aspect of education, and some would advocate that there should be life-long opportunity for this element of education. The goal of movement work in school must be to develop the physical literacy of all young people, every girl and every boy.

We are as we are, because we are embodied, and to respect this human characteristic in all young people is a right for every pupil.

 

M.E.Whitehead May 2007

Website www.physical-literacy.org.uk

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Appendix 1.

The current working definition of physical literacy.

In short:- ‘the motivation, confidence, physical competence, understanding and knowledge to maintain physical activity at an individually appropriate level, throughout life’.

In further detail:-

Addendum

Such is the influence of western patriarchal culture that the development of physical literacy by girls and young women has become problematic. This arises on account of the way in which male hegemony works both to assert the lesser capacity of the embodied dimension of women and to devalue the development of physical literacy in that it is unfeminine.

Developing physical literacy in its broadest sense can also be problematic for boys who do not match up to the extrovert, mesomorph male model to which all men are made to feel they should aspire. In both cases, for different reasons, physical literacy can be seen as counter to the expectations of society.

 

M. Whitehead May 2007

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Clark, A. (1997) Being There: Putting Brain, Body and World Together Again MIT Press London

De Beauvoir, S. (1949) The Second Sex. Translated by Parshley, H.M (1997) Vintage Classics

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Merleau-Ponty, M. (1964) The Primacy of Perception translated by James Edie NWUniversity Press

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Whitehead, M.E. (1990a) Meaningful Existence, Embodiment and Physical Education Journal of Philosophy of Education Vol 24, No 1 p3-13

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