The situation regarding peoples' health around the world is taking a turn for the worse on both a global and national scale, where technical advancement and an increase of sedentary behaviour are described as contributing factors. In 1993 Margaret Whitehead introduced the concept of physical literacy which is an approach to physical activity that can be adapted in order to help turn this troubling trend around. This concept has since its introduction gained traction around the world and contains four core elements including motivation, confidence, physical competence and knowledge and understanding to value and take responsibility for engagement in physical activities for life. The purpose of this study was to gain an understanding and compare physical education teachers and school-age educare teachers perceptions and ways of work in accordance with physical literacy in Swedish elementary schools. Furthermore, this study investigated the possibilities and the educators personal interest of working together between school-age educare teachers and physical education when it comes to helping the pupils develop an active style of life. This study was constructed using a qualitative approach in which eight people were interviewed in northern Sweden. The results indicated that both differences and similarities between physical education teachers and school-age educare teachers could be identified, with the curriculum being a contributing factor. One conclusion this study reached is that both school-age educare teachers and physical education teachers work in accordance with physical literacy to a certain degree, but there is definitely room for improvement. The school has a massive opportunity to instill an active style of life in the students, that the concept of physical literacy strives for, however this opportunity is not capitalized upon fully.

Recent research has suggested that the effects of sport on well-being are mediated by psychological characteristics such as physical self-concept, instrumentality and positive body images; in addition, sport was found to be related to these psychological benefits for high school girls. However, physical self-concept played a central role by mediating the sport -body image and sport instrumentality relationships. Positive body image and instrumentality, in turn, predicted greater psychological well-being. The purpose of this investigation was to replicate earlier studies, and to examine these relationships with non-sport physical activity. Sport and physical activity were expected to contribute to higher physical self-concept, which in turn, would contribute positively to instrumentality and body image. Further, instrumentality and body image would be positively related to psychological well-being. Participants were 355 9th (n = 170) and 10th (n = 193) graders and they completed measures of involvement in sport/physical activities, physical self-concept, instrumentality, body satisfaction, self-esteem, satisfaction with life, depression, and demographics. Structural equation modeling was utilized to analyze the data. Overall, for both sport and physical activity, the models fit the data well (sport model: NNFI=.95, CFI=.96, SRMR=.08, RMSEA=.09, physical activity model: NNFI=.96, CFI=.97, SRMR=.08, RMSEA=.09). Specifically, sport participation was positively related to physical self-concept (R2 = .47); physical self-concept related to body image (R2 = .30) and instrumentality (R2 = .23); Physical activity was positively related to physical self-concept (R2 = .61); physical self-concept related to body image (R2 = .30) and instrumentality (R2 = .26). For both models, positive body image and higher levels of instrumentality contributed to greater psychological well-being (R2 = 66). These results highlight the importance of developing physical competence for high school girls through sport participation and physical activity.

Syfte och frågeställningar Min avsikt med studien var att undersöka yngre elevers (8-10 år) attityder och upplevelser av fysisk aktivitet, samt vilken roll barnen tilldelar fysisk förmåga och upplevd fysisk självkänsla vid spel och lekar tillsammans med andra barn. Metod Urvalet bestod av 12 elever, 8-10 år med vilka en semistrukturerad intervju genomfördes. Vid intervjun användes bilder som föreställde barn i olika situationer. Utöver Intervjun genomfördes en föräldraenkät för att få en bakgrundsinformation om föräldrarnas syn på barnens fysiska aktivitet och deras egna motionsvanor. Intervjusvaren bearbetades utifrån frågeställningarna, analyserades och tolkades med utgångspunkt från ett interaktionistiskt perspektiv. Resultat Eleverna beskriver den egna fysiska självkänslan i termer av god idrottslig motorisk kompetens. Då respondenterna resonerar kring andras goda kompetenser beskrivs dessa i termer av fysisk styrka och kondition. De fysiskt aktiva (föreningsbundna) eleverna tenderar att vara tydligare i sina motiveringar till varför de är duktiga på idrott eller är sportiga. Majoriteten av respondenterna väljer umgänge och gemensam aktivitet baserat på rörelsekompetens och sportighet. Samtliga respondenter beskriver en positiv upplevelse av ämnet idrott och hälsa. Det förekommer dock i intervjusvaren berättelser om kamrater som beskrivs som fysiskt inaktiva och ej roade av ämnet. De fysiskt aktiva (föreningsbundna) respondenterna har lättare att beskriva vad som är roligt i ämnet och de har en något tydligare bild av ämnets investeringsvärde. Dock legitimeras ämnet enligt ett investeringsvärde snarare än av ett egenvärde av samtliga respondenter. Slutsats Samtliga respondenter äger en hög grad av fysisk självkänsla, som beskrivs i termer av god idrottslig motorisk kompetens. Ur ett interaktionistiskt perspektiv verkar fysisk aktivitet, att vara sportig, ha en viss betydelse för yngre elever då det gäller val av umgänge och fria aktiviteter på exempelvis raster. Detta framträder som mer betydelsefullt för de fysiskt aktiva (föreningsbundna) eleverna och för de äldre eleverna. Dock verkar sportighet ej ha någon betydelse för social positionering eller företräda ett hierarkiskt värde för yngre elever. / Aim My aim was to exploreexperiences and attitudes towards physical activity among juniors (children aged 8 to 10 years), in particular the influence of physical activity and physical self-esteem when playing and interacting with others. Method Interviews with 12 randomly selected juniors from grades 2 to 4, i.e. aged 8 to 10 was carried out. Pictures presenting children in different situations were used during the interviews. The interviews were also supplemented with a questionnaire where the parents views on physical activity andexpectations on their children were displayed. The answers were categorized, compared and analyzed from an interactionist perspective. Results The respondents own physical self-esteem is described in terms of high athletic motor competence. When the respondents argue about others high competence, they use terms of physical power and cardiovascular health. Juniors with memberships in sport clubs tend to be more explicit when giving reasons why they are good at sports. The majority of the respondents choose company and activities based on physical competence and sports performance.  All respondents express favourable experiences from physical education (PE). Yet, the interviews include stories about friends who are physically inactive, and who does not seem to experience a pleasure in, or enjoy participating in PE. Membership in sports clubs is associated with a higher ability to describe what is stimulating in the subject and also associated with having a slightly more distinct picture of the investment value of the subject. However, the subject is justified by an investment value, rather than an intrinsic value by all respondents. Conclusion All of the respondents have a high level of physical self-esteem, which is described in terms of high athletic motor competence. From an interactionist perspective, physical activity, being sporty, seems to have certain significance to juniors concerning choice of company and free activities, e.g. in school breaks. This is even more obvious for pupils with membership in sport clubs, and also for the older pupils. However, being sporty does not seem to have any value of hierarchy, nor does social position seem to depend on being sporty.