Classroom Teachers’ Perceptions of the Alignment Between Physical Education Curriculum and Physical Literacy-Compatible Pedagogy: Preliminary Evidence from Croatia

Abstract

Physical literacy (PL) has become a central concept in contemporary physical education (PE), promoting holistic movement experiences and lifelong engagement in physical activity. However, it remains unclear how PL principles are reflected in PE curricula and perceived by teachers. This study aimed to preliminarily evaluate the psychometric properties of the Croatian version of the PL-compatible pedagogy questionnaire, examine classroom teachers’ perceptions of Croatian PE curriculum alignment with PL principles, and investigate associations between teachers’ perceived PL and PL-compatible pedagogy. Thirty-three female classroom teachers from Croatia (49.80 ± 10.21 years) completed the Perceived Physical Literacy Questionnaire for Adults (PPLQ-SEE) and the PL-compatible pedagogy questionnaire. The questionnaire demonstrated acceptable internal consistency for exploratory purposes (Cronbach’s α = 0.65). The strongest agreement was observed for acknowledgement of students’ unique movement journeys (ID = 0.56), inclusion (ID = 0.55), meaningful engagement in physical activity (ID = 0.55), and embodiment (ID = 0.53), while lower agreement was found for student movement choice (ID = 0.38) and balanced holistic development (ID = 0.38). Significant associations between teachers’ perceived PL and specific PL-compatible pedagogy items provided initial evidence of construct validity, although these findings should be interpreted as exploratory. These preliminary findings suggest that future PL-based approaches may benefit from placing greater emphasis on student autonomy, movement choice, and holistic learning experiences within PE. However, confirmation in larger and more diverse samples is required.