Conference Agenda

Purpose: Physical literacy (PL) has become central to international policy and educational discourse. Universities play a pivotal role in embedding PL within teacher education; however, its systematic integration remains uneven. This study evaluated a digital e-book, a gamified mobile application, and an interactive e-learning platform to support the professional competence for PL development among future Physical Education teachers, developed during the Erasmus+ Sport project ePhyLi.

Methods: This study examined the educational effectiveness, usability, and user experience of these tools using a quasi-experimental pre-post design. Sixty-eight university students from three European institutions participated, with 61 completing all measures. A 20-item knowledge test assessed four domains of PL. Usability and experience were evaluated through the System Usability Scale (SUS), User Experience Questionnaire short version (UEQ-S), and additional app-specific instruments. Quantitative analyses included paired t-tests, McNemar’s tests, and repeated-measures ANOVA.

Results: Significant improvements were observed across all PL domains (p≤0.003). The greatest gains occurred when the e-book was integrated into weekly lectures using a flipped-classroom approach alongside the platform and app (Time-Group interaction, p<0.001). User experience ratings were moderately positive for both tools. SUS scores (platform: 63.49; app: 60.67) indicated scope for refinement, although playfulness and gamification were rated highly.

Conclusions: Structured curricular integration of gamified digital tools can strengthen conceptual understanding, confidence and professional readiness in PL, while highlighting the importance of iterative usability improvements. These insights offer a scalable blueprint for enhancing PL competencies in teacher education.

Funding/Support Source: European Union [Number: 101089928].

Keywords: higher education, digital learning, gamification, usability evaluation

Purpose: Physical literacy (PL) research in Sweden is limited, especially studies involving preschool children. Promoting PL in preschools requires knowledge of how children themselves understand movement. This study explored preschool children’s perspectives on their PL and the methodological lessons learned from enabling their participation in research.

Methods: Applying a qualitative design, 25 interviews with 5-year-olds were conducted in Swedish preschools. The semi-structured guide addressed core components of PL: motivation, self-confidence, physical competence, knowledge, and understanding. Data were analysed using semi-deductive content analysis. Although walks in the preschool yard were initially planned, interviews were conducted indoors to accommodate their wishes.

Results: The children shared thoughtful reflections and showed strong interest in telling their stories. They expressed joy in movement, a desire to feel good when moving, and emphasised the importance of friends and teachers. They described their abilities as well as movements they wanted to learn.

Conclusions: Including preschool children’s perspectives not only advances research but also reshapes how PL can be understood in early childhood. Lessons from including children’s voices show that meaning in movement is relational and that joy and feeling safe are intertwined with motivation. They also reveal that children’s choices influence both the research process and the knowledge produced. Interviewing young children demanded continuous flexibility and responsiveness, sometimes redirecting planned procedures. Grounding PL promotion in children’s firsthand experiences of movement requires their active involvement and can support the development of relevant and inclusive preschool practices.

Funding source: Mälardalen University, Sweden.

Keywords: Early years, health promotion, preschool

Purpose: Children with disabilities are among the most sedentary groups in society and often participate in physical activity less than their non-disabled peers. Although physical literacy (PL) is increasingly promoted as a framework for inclusive movement, few studies have explored how these children understand and experience it, particularly in adapted primary schools. This study explores how children in Swedish adapted primary schools understand their own PL, including its core components: knowledge and understanding, motivation, self-confidence, and physical competence.

Methods: The study was conducted in three schools and involved 23 children. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews supported by visual aids to facilitate participation and communication. The interviews were audio- and video-recorded, transcribed, and subsequently analysed using a deductive content analysis.

Results: By foregrounding children’s voices, this presentation highlights lessons learned from taking children’s perspectives seriously, revealing how shifting away from adult interpretive frameworks reshapes what can be seen, heard, and understood. These include how competence in movement is redefined, how motivation is closely tied to feelings of safety and belonging, and how communicative and methodological adaptations shape what can be expressed. The presentation also addresses what inclusive research with children means in practice and how such approaches may challenge prevailing assumptions about physical literacy.

Conclusions: Together, these lessons may inform more responsive pedagogical practices and meaningful movement opportunities in adapted primary schools, supporting long-term engagement in physical activity.

Support/Funding sources: This study was supported by Stiftelsen Sunnerdahls Handikappfond.

Keywords: Physical literacy, children, disability, adapted primary school, public health

Purpose: Physical Literacy (PL) is widely recognized as the central outcome of contemporary Physical Education (PE), promoting lifelong engagement in physical activity. This study examines how the intended curriculum for future Physical Education and Sport (PE&S) teachers in Romania aligns with PL principles.

Methods: A qualitative thematic analysis was conducted on the mandatory bibliography required for candidates preparing for the national teacher certification examination.

Results: Of the 21 prescribed references, only eight were accessible, all published more than two decades ago, highlighting the outdated theoretical foundations informing teacher preparation. Analysis of the accessible materials identified five main themes and ten subthemes describing the intended outcomes and pedagogical tools of Romanian PE&S. Findings indicate that teacher preparation remains strongly influenced by a sport-performance paradigm, prioritizing competition, motor performance standards, sports training, and talent identification as dominant educational mechanisms. Although the literature promotes independent engagement in physical exercise as a key objective, this goal is primarily framed through systematic participation in sport disciplines rather than through the holistic, learner-centred development associated with PL.

Conclusions: The findings reveal a conceptual gap between international recommendations and the pedagogical discourse embedded in teacher preparation materials, emphasizing the need to update mandatory training literature to better support inclusive and lifelong physical activity participation. The study also highlights the importance of understanding national educational and cultural contexts when considering PL implementation, as these contexts may significantly shape both the feasibility and direction of curricular reform.

Funding source: none

Keywords: physical education; teacher education; teacher preparation; Romania

Purpose: Schools, as crucial environments for adolescents, hold significant potential for promoting active lifestyles. Internationally, Physical Literacy (PL) is gaining recognition in physical education and physical activity promotion (UNE-SCO-QPE). PL fosters lifelong engagement in physical activity through an integrated focus on cognitive, physical, and psychological domains. Across Europe, PL is rarely explicitly included in curricula, although related principles are often addressed indirectly. Given its limited integration into the German school system, this study explores Physical Education Teacher Education students’ (PETEs) perspectives on PL.

Methods: As part of a university course, PETEs (n=18) reflected on PL, its theoretical foundations, and potential integration into school practice through weekly learning portfolios over one semester. The portfolios covered prior knowledge, individual understandings, curricular connections, practical implementation, and perceived opportunities and challenges in (extra)curricular contexts. Data were analysed using qualitative content analysis following Mayring’s model of inductive category formation.

Results: Initial findings indicate that PL was largely unfamiliar to PETEs. After intensive engagement, most identified substantial overlaps between PL and the elementary physical education curriculum, even where PL is not explicitly named. PETEs highlighted the unequal weighting of PL domains within the curriculum. Practical barriers included limited time and space, as well as prevailing performance- and assessment-oriented approaches.

Discussion: These exploratory findings reveal perceived discrepancies between PL theory and school practice. A systematic examination of PL within German sport science appears essential to ensure that educational processes supporting lifelong physical activity are sustainably established.

Funding/Support Source: None

Keywords: Physical Literacy, school-based PA promotion, teachers’ perspective