Physical Literacy

Welcome to the Physical Literacy web site

Full Articles

Whitehead, M.E. Meaningful Existence, Embodiment and Physical Education - Journal of Philosophy of Education (1990)

Whitehead, M.E. The Concept of Physical Literacy - BJTPE (2001)

Whitehead, M.E. The Concept of Physical Literacy - EJPE (2001)

Whitehead, M.E. Physical Literacy - A Debate - Pre-Olympic Congress Thessaloniki (2004)

Mandigo, J. and Holt, N. Reading the Game: Introducing the notion of Games Literacy - PHE (2004) (PDF only)

Whitehead, M.E. Physical Literacy - A Developing Concept (2005)

Whitehead, M.E. Developing Physical Literacy - Roehampton (2005)

Whitehead, M.E. The Concept of Physical Literacy and the development of a sense of self - IAPESGW (2005)

Whitehead, M.E. Poster on Physical Literacy 2nd World Summit on Physical Education - Macolin (2005)

Haydn-Davies, D. How does the Concept of Physical Literacy affect what is and might be the practice of Physical Education? BJTPE (2005)

Whitehead, M.E. Developing the Concept of Physical Literacy. ICSSPE Newsletter Summer 2006

Whitehead, M.E. with Murdoch, E. Physical Literacy and Physical Education: Conceptual Mapping. PE Matters Summer 2006

Martin, A. Special PE: Physical Literacy in a Special School. PE Matters Vol. 1 No.3 Winter 2006

Whitehead, M.E. Physical Literacy and its importance to every individual - NDA (2007)

Whitehead, M.E. Squaring the circle - Women, Physical Literacy and Western Patriarchal Culture - BPSA (2007)

Whitehead, M. E. (2007) Physical Literacy as the goal of Physical Education with particular reference to girls and young women. Unpublished paper given at CAHPERD Conference May 2007

Maggie Killngbeck, Mark Bowler, Danny Golding and Paul Sammon. Physical Education and Physical Literacy

Whitehead, M. E. (2007) Physical Literacy: Philosophical considerations in relation to the development of self, universality and propositional knowledge. Sport Ethics and Philosophy Vol 1 No. 3 Dec 2007

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