Origins and definition of the physical literacy construct: from conceptual understanding to the collective creation of a European referential
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47197/retos.v48.97380Keywords:
Palavras-chave: literacia, literacia física, educação física, desporto, atividade física, europa.Abstract
Physical literacy can contribute to changing practices that value and support equitable access to health and education. This critical review aims to reflect on the central aspects of the process of defining the concept of physical literacy, from understanding its origin and philosophical character to its definition in the European context, projecting new opportunities for research, training and dissemination of the construct in the context of the European Union, placing greater emphasis on the case of Portugal. Physical literacy is understood as a promising construct in different European countries. Consequently, between 2018 and 2020, partnerships were developed within the European Union to define and disseminate a European reference for physical literacy. In the last eight years, three Portuguese universities have demonstrated scientific and pedagogical initiatives with the aim of establishing the concept at the national level in the context of education. The integration of the construct in theoretical models and its study in more diverse contexts and environments of Physical Activity is considered as a direction for the future. The study of physical literacy is recent in Portugal (2016), but it has shown relevant advances evidenced by the country's participation in European projects and the publication of reviews, conceptual and empirical studies on the development and evaluation of physical literacy in the context of physical education. Advancing in the integration of physical literacy in a more consistent manner at a European and national level will imply in the future the development of intervention studies and the promotion of collaborative alliances between the education, sports and health sectors.
Keywords: literacy, physical literacy, physical education, sport, physical activity, Europe.
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