British Philosophy of Sport Association - 2005

Physical Literacy - A Developing Concept

Margaret Whitehead

Abstract

The intention of this paper is to stand back from current physical education practice and take a broad philosophical view of the fundamental goals of all aspects of movement education. The concept of Physical Literacy as currently defined is presented and compared with the notion of being 'physically educated'. The concept of Physical Literacy is justified from an existential and phenomenological viewpoint.

The paper then addresses four questions raised in previous papers on the concept of Physical Literacy. These are:-

  1. Is Physical Literacy a universal concept?
  2. How can the concept relate to the physically challenged and those with other disabilities?
  3. How far should a physically literate individual be able to verbalise/articulate the components of this attribute?
  4. Has an understanding of personal health promotion a place in the concept of Physical Literacy?

Finally the implications of the notion of Physical Literacy for the nature of work in physical education throughout schooling are considered.

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