STUDY ON THE UNDERSTANDING AND PERCEPTION OF PHYSICAL LITERACY AMONG PHYSICAL EDUCATION AND SPORT TEACHERS IN ROMANIA

Abstract

Introduction: Physical literacy (PL) is a concept that, in recent years, has earned notoriety within the field of physical education and has become a focus point in schools with physical education and sports programs. Physical education lessons represent an ideal setting for fostering and developing physical literacy, and the teacher plays an essential role in its development. The physical education teachers' choices during the lesson influence what students learn and whether the objective of physical literacy is achieved. Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the understanding and perception of PL among Romanian physical education and sport teachers. Material and method: The participants in this study were 169 physical education and sport teachers (42% female and 58% male) from Romania, most of them from the western part of the country (86,39%). This study was conducted using the questionnaire survey method. A questionnaire that assessed the teachers’ understanding and perception towards physical literacy was applied. The collected data was analyzed using the IBM SPSS Statistics 20. Results: The main results indicate that there is a positive and moderate correlation between the understanding and perception of PL among Romanian physical education and sport teachers (ρ = .454, p <0.001). Conclusions: It is concluded that the understanding and perception of the concept of PA are positively associated, which highlights the need for teachers to be informed about PA in order to optimize the teaching process.