PERCEIVED PHYSICAL LITERACY AS INFLUENCED BY ATTITUDES TOWARD PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AND QUALITY PHYSICAL EDUCATION: A CONVERGENT DESIGN

Physical literacy is the foundation of physical education, sports, and public health agendas. Low physical literacy among individuals was reported as a prevalent issue and continues to be a primary concern for physical educators. Although there is a growing interest in investigating physical literacy, there is still an existing scarcity of studies that investigated the interplay of attitudes toward physical activity, and quality physical education using a mixed-method approach. This study utilized a mixed methods approach, specifically convergent design, to determine the influence of attitudes towards physical activity and quality physical education on the perceived physical literacy among state universities and colleges in region X. A sample of 400 respondents, 14 in-depth-interviews and 7 FGD participants were involved in the study. Sets of adapted survey questionnaires and the interview guide were used to extract data relative to the research questions. The multiple regression analysis was used to analyze the influence of two independent variables on the dependent variable as statistical treatment. In the qualitative strand, thematic analysis was employed. Results showed that the two independent variables – attitudes towards physical activity and quality physical education significantly influenced on perceived physical literacy. In the qualitative phase of the study, five essential themes emerged from the lived experiences of the participants, such as physical and mental health benefits, motivation and personal growth, challenges and barriers, social interaction and community support, and educational and knowledge gaps. Furthermore, the merging of quantitative and qualitative findings produced a merging-converging nature on the attitudes towards physical activity and roles on the experiences in shaping the attitudes and beliefs, and a merging-diverging nature on the quality of physical education, perceived physical literacy and role of experiences in shaping commitment.<p> </p><p><strong> Article visualizations:</strong></p><p><img src="/-counters-/soc/0762/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /></p>