Grant: Operating Grant - PA: Reproductive and Child Heath (start-up grants)

Assessment is the cornerstone of education. There is currently a serious gap in the assessment of "physical literacy." Physical Literacy is conceived to be the tools, social/cognitive, behavioural, and fitness related, that children need to possess or develop in order to receive the inherent health benefits of taking part in physical activity for life-long health, enjoyment and success. Although physical education is considered to be an integral part of the education of all children, the quality, quantity, and curricular outcomes of physical education are currently not adequately evaluated and the consequently there is no accountability for the obesity crisis in Canada. The objective of this 1-year grant is to create and validate a comprehensive measure of physical literacy on children ages 10-12 years and will be pilot tested in eastern Ontario for feasibility, reliability and validity. The Canadian Assessment of Physical Literacy (CAPL) will assess physical fitness, physical activity, fundamental movement skills and psycho-social knowledge about activity. Three versions of the CAPL will be created in order to determine the most comprehensive, yet feasible, time conscious, with the optimum amount of financial and staff involvement. During this start up grant we are proposing 3 cycles of testing. During Cycle 1 each version will be tested on 75 children. Based on the results and feedback the modules will be modified. In Cycle 2 each version will be tested on another 75 children to evaluate the effectiveness of the modified modules; further minor modifications will be made and in Cycle 3, each version will be tested on approximately 200 children where normative data and trends will be gathered. In Cycle 3 test-re-test, and inter-rater reliability will also be measured. The information gathered will inform parents, teachers, health professionals and researchers about the current status of childhood physical literacy in Canadian children.