Table 2.

Critical analysis of the qualitative measures/assessments of physical literacy and its related constructs

Measures/assessments (number of papers)	Definition(s) of physical literacy used	Philosophy adopted	Outcome assessed	Strengths of measure/assessment in relation to physical literacy and related constructs	Limitations of measure/assessment in relation to physical literacy and related constructs
Interviews (9)	Whiteheadian definition [70, 73, 74, 77, 78, 82, 83] Developing literacy skills [84] PHE Canada definition [80, 84]	Holistic philosophy [70, 74, 78, 80, 82, 83] No philosophy [73, 77, 84]	To gauge the effectiveness of physical literacy interventions To explore the movement experiences of children and adults Opinions about the efficiency of physical literacy	Allows for exploration and in-depth responses around the cognitive (knowledge and understanding) domain of physical literacy Captures thoughts and feelings of a physical literacy intervention Can be used to capture multiple individuals’ understanding of physical literacy and interventions of physical literacy, i.e., pupils and teachers Able to discuss the affective domain of motivation and confidence	Cannot capture the physical domain of physical literacy, although perceived physical competence could be captured Unable to capture social interactions/interactions with the physical environment
Open-ended questionnaires (4)	Whiteheadian definition [71, 73, 75, 79]	No philosophy [71, 73, 75, 79]	To explore children’s perceived competence and attitudes towards PE To investigate PE teachers’ and pupils’ understanding of physical literacy To determine expert opinions to evaluate physical domain assessments	Captures thoughts and feelings of a physical literacy intervention Allows for exploration and detailed, in-depth responses around the cognitive (knowledge and understanding) domain of physical literacy Able to discuss the affective domain of motivation and confidence Can be used to enhance responses in interviews and focus groups	Knowledge and understanding/cognitive and writing ability is dependent on the age and ability of the participants Unable to capture the physical domain of physical literacy, although perceived physical competence could be captured Cannot capture social interactions/interactions with the physical environment
Reflective diary (4)	Whiteheadian definition [42, 73, 74, 80]	Holistic philosophy [74, 80] No philosophy [42, 73]	To attempt to monitor effective teaching strategies or experiences Recording of performances and self-rating of effort and improvement Explore movement experiences of children and adults	Captures individual thoughts and feelings of a physical literacy intervention Allows for exploration and responses in a detailed, in-depth manner around the cognitive (knowledge and understanding) domain of physical literacy Able to discuss the affective domain of motivation and confidence Can be used to enhance responses in interviews and focus groups	Knowledge and understanding/cognitive and writing ability is dependent on the age and ability of the participants Unable to capture the physical domain of physical literacy, although perceived physical competence, perceived effort/exertion and improvement could be captured Unable to capture social interactions/interactions with the physical environment
Focus groups (4)	Whiteheadian definition [72, 77, 78, 81]	Holistic philosophy [72, 78, 81] No philosophy [77]	To explore the movement experiences from a child’s perspective To determine expert opinions to formulate a quantitative survey To gauge the effectiveness of physical literacy interventions	Captures social interactions with other individuals Allows for exploration detailed, in-depth responses around the cognitive (knowledge and understanding) domain of physical literacy Able to discuss the affective domain of motivation and confidence	Cannot capture interactions with the physical environment Unable to capture the physical domain of physical literacy Responses can be influenced by other members of the focus group and goes somewhat against the concept of an individual journey
Participant observation (5)	Whiteheadian definition [76, 77, 80, 82] No definition [88]	Holistic philosophy [76, 80, 82] No philosophy [71, 88]	To ascertain the amount of time participants were active in their learning/engaging with physical activity To explore phenomenological observations from the child’s perspective	Captures social interactions/interactions with the physical environment Captures the physical domain of physical literacy Able to observe one’s level of engagement in physical activities	Cannot capture in-depth responses around the cognitive (knowledge and understanding) domain of physical literacy Unable to capture an individual’s understanding of physical literacy/interventions of physical literacy Cannot capture thoughts and feelings of a physical literacy intervention Unable to observe the internalized affective domain of motivation and confidence Some participants may try harder if they know they are being observed
Photo elicitation (2)	Whiteheadian definition [72] Developing physical skills [85]	Holistic philosophy [72] No philosophy [85]	Understand the role of active play in promoting physical literacy from a child’s perspective Food intake using digital photography-weighted plate waste method	Can be used to enhance responses in interviews and focus groups Captures aspects of the participants’ interactions with the physical environment Captures the participants’ knowledge and understanding of what physical literacy means to them in a pictorial form	Unable to capture an individual’s understanding of physical literacy/interventions of physical literacy Cannot capture thoughts and feelings of a physical literacy intervention Cannot view the internalized affective domain of motivation and confidence Unable to capture interactions with the physical environment Unable to represent the whole environment, i.e., behind the camera
Video recordings (4)	Whiteheadian definition [78, 82, 83] Developing literacy skills [84]	Holistic philosophy [78, 82, 83] No philosophy [84]	Captures the physical context and used to capture different observations when multiple activities occur To record interviews	Captures social interactions/interactions with the physical environment Captures the physical domain of physical literacy	Cannot capture in-depth responses around the cognitive (knowledge and understanding) domain of physical literacy Unable to capture an individual’s understanding of physical literacy/interventions of physical literacy Cannot observe the internalized affective domain of motivation and confidence Participants may try harder if they know they are being video recorded
Portfolio (1)	Developing literacy skills [84]	No philosophy [84]	A collection of written accounts of different physical activities completed by students	Allows for detailed in-depth written responses around the cognitive (knowledge and understanding) domain of physical literacy Captures progress over a sustained period of time, reflecting their individual physical activity journey	Knowledge and understanding/cognitive and academic writing ability is dependent on the age and ability of the participants Unable to capture the internalized affective domain of motivation and confidence Cannot capture an individual’s understanding of physical literacy/interventions of physical literacy Problematical to capture social interactions/interactions with the physical environment

PHE physical and health education, PE physical education