The objective of the Physical Literacy Research Centre is to study the variables that have an impact on the interest in practising physical activity throughout all stages of life.

The Faculty of Education, Social Science and Humanities (FECSH) of the Universidad de La Frontera (UFRO) has a new Research Centre for Physical Literacy. The multidisciplinary team consists of academics from several national and international universities who have been working on different projects in this field of knowledge, but from different perspectives, which come together in this new Centre, in order to improve people’s quality of life from a holistic view.

“The idea of creating our Physical Literacy Research Centre originated in the need to study the variables that are linked with the interest in practising physical activity permanently and throughout all stages of life. We want to approach the issue from a holistic point of view, where we consider not only the physical perspective, but also psychological, cognitive and social factors regarding the adherence to physical activity,” explained Dr. Jaime Carcamo Oyarzun, the director of the Physical Literacy Research Centre (CIAM).

Taking into account that the concept of Physical Literacy is a globally emerging approach that has not yet been disseminated in the Spanish-speaking parts of the world, CIAM will be a pioneer in the study of this issue.

In this context, Dr. Carcamo explains: “We hope that the knowledge we generate will position our Faculty and our University as a national and international reference in this field. It is worth mentioning that the members of the research team of CIAM already develop their lines of research at a high level, for example within their Diufro, Fondecyt, or INES projects, among others. That is why we will always try to make sure that our research at CIAM has a high impact.”

CIAM OUTREACH AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

The objective of CIAM is not only to study the dimensions related to Physical Literacy, but also to ensure that the findings from the research will have a direct impact on the population. Once CIAM gathers the data and establishes an approach regarding the regional and national context, the team of researchers will develop interventions adapted to the local social reality, in order to create a positive impact on the development of Physical Literacy.

In this context, Dr. Carcamo pointed out: “We will provide trainings for teachers and other actors related to this field, in order to update the teaching practices and to give them the tools to adapt and further develop their teaching skills within our context, for the development of Physical Literacy.”

FUTURE CIAM-UFRO PROJECTS

The first objective is to position the Physical Literacy approach in the national and international context. Therefore, the researchers will carry out a systematic review of the existing literature, which will be a starting point for the development of the first CIAM-UFRO project. The initial aim is to establish a national consensus on the concept and structure of Physical Literacy, since one of the important aspects for the development of this field is that everybody agrees on the fundamental aspects, addressing the topic from the local realities.

“On November 17, we will carry out a seminar about the current situation and future perspectives of physical education, with a main focus on the development of Physical Literacy. The participants and speakers of this seminar come from different parts of Chile, Spain and Switzerland. They are all working on development proposals in this field, and will participate in scientific meetings for each of the lines addressed by the centre,” the director of CIAM explained.