Compatibility of physical education curricula with physical literacy across 40 European countries

Abstract

Although the student-centred concept of physical literacy (PL) has been emphasized by UNESCO, knowledge about its adoption/implementation into PE remains scant. Therefore, the goal of this study was to evaluate and compare the compatibility of PE curricula with PL in Europe. We collaboratively gathered a panel of experts encompassing 40 European countries. In the first step, the experts were invited to freely specify the compatibility of country’s PE curricula with PL. The reports were subjected to six-step reflexive thematic analysis. In the second step, we theoretically derived, psychometrically explored, and descriptively analysed 15 curricular-didactical items, each containing a spectrum of statements with high versus no/insufficient PL compatibility. We synthesized both data sources following an explanatory sequential mixed-methods design. While few PE curricula explicitly adhered to PL in Europe, most documents exhibited content and aims marking elements of PL. However, we registered large differences in PL-compatibility between four European regions for the deep structure of the curricula (η2=.27, p=.01). While the quantitative survey suggested no differences in PL compatibility between anglophone versus non-anglophone countries, the qualitative material revealed conceptual and terminological challenges across Europe. The European countries have hesitantly followed the UNESCO call to align PE with the holistic PL concept.