Introduction
There is a growing emphasis on the maintenance of good health to reduce the need for curing poor health. This approach, drawing on Antonovsky’s notion of Salutogenesis, recognises that we need to have resources to support our health and wellbeing.
Combining McElroy’s adaptation of Bronbrenfenner’s Social Ecological Model and Salutogenesis, all our research is underpinned by a Saluto-ecological approach (Piper et al., 2022). With this approach physical literacy is viewed as an individual resource supporting physical activity and as a key concept for supporting broader wellbeing.
Our team is conducting research in a range of projects from early childhood and parental engagement right across the life course to the aging population. Furthermore, our staff support a range of postgraduate studies at Masters and PhD level.
All of our research is applied to practice. You can read below how our research impacts outcomes for young children, parents, older adults and patients, and improves health and wellbeing in our communities.
Postgraduate Research Studies
We have a range of completed and on-going post graduate research studies linked to Health and Physical Literacy.
The team in WAHPL manage and support three Master’s programmes in the Institute: MA Physical Education, Sport and Physical Literacy, MA Outdoor Education, MSc Sport and Exercise Nutrition.
Student research projects from these master’s programmes have investigated a range of topics — some examples include:
Outdoor Dissertation Research at Level 7
- An exploration of how women perceive the presence of others to affect their freedom in outdoor activities.
- The landscape of outdoor learning in Zimbabwe and the impact of indigenous culture on engagement with the outdoors.
- ‘Sense of Place’ in Further Education Outdoor Adventure.
- How does disconnection from social media on a three-day, UK-based, outdoor residential contribute to the learning experience and change in attitudes or behaviour toward future use?
- Sharing the experience: parent perspectives of an outdoor education programme for families with children and young persons at an SEN school.
- Paddlesport motivation within Wales: an exploration of motivational differences for recreational paddlesport participation within Wales.
Physical Literacy and Physical Education Research at Level 7
- Parental perspectives in relation to pre-schoolers physical activity
- Opportunities for female-identifying-players in Ultimate
- Parents’ perception of early specialisation
- The impact of SKIP-Cymru on pupils’ motor skills
- The role of street dance in interest development and subjective task value of male secondary students
- Psychosocial and environmental factors that influence university students’ physical activity.
PhD Students
Full-time PhD students:
- Dr Amanda John (completed) – The impact of SKIP Cymru professional development on pupils’ motor competence, perceived competence and physical activity.
- Dr. Kate Piper (completed) – A social ecological study of mass participation sports events in Pembrokeshire.
- Anna Stevenson (ongoing) – The evaluation and development of Footie Families, a family physical activity engagement programme.
Part-time PhD students:
- Graham French – A new model for Outdoor Adventure Education for Key Stage 3
- David Gardner – High Intensity Training for post-menopausal women
- Martin Norman – Therapeutic landscapes
For more information about studying at postgraduate level please contact Dr Andy Williams at a.williams@uwtsd.ac.uk or Dr Nalda Wainwright at n.wainwright@uwtsd.ac.uk
Early Childhood Research
We have a range of published research in the field of early childhood physical development. Our SKIP Cymru research building on 30 years of existing motor development research was a submitted to the REF2021 as an impact case study.
Original PhD research identified the need for addressing a lack of motor development in children in relation to object control skills. The subsequent SKIP Cymru programme was evaluated and has recently been researched as a three-year EU-funded PhD project. The findings from this work led to the development of more in depth accredited professional development. You can read about our training programmes for early years practitioners.
We have researched the perceptions and needs of parents in relation to their pre-school children’s physical activity. The team at WAHPL wrote the Footie Families early years engagement programme in collaboration with the Football Association of Wales (FAW). Anna Stevenson has evaluated and developed the programme for her PhD research.
Working in collaboration with ATiC we have researched the impact of the MiniMovers APP activities on pre-schoolers’ physical development and the experiences of parents.
Findings from all of these studies are being presented at the 4th CIAPSE Congress in Luxembourg.
Read more about our Master’s and PhD students’ research.
To learn more out our physical literacy research, study the MA Physical Education, Sport and Physical Literacy, or learn more about PhD study in physical literacy, contact Dr Nalda Wainwright at n.wainwright@uwtsd.ac.uk To read our publications go to Dr Nalda Wainwright on ResearchGate.
Outdoor Research
Outdoor research in the Wales Academy of Health and Physical Literacy (WAHPL) contributes new knowledge and learning in Education and Physical Literacy.
In the world of education Williams & Wainwright (2016 Parts 1 & 2) have developed a new curriculum model for outdoor adventure education (OAE) that better reflects the unique contribution this form of outdoor learning has to make to young people’s education. Their research identifies four non-negotiable features of a model for OAE as ‘being mainly outdoors, experiential learning, challenge by choice and managed risk’.
Our outdoor research focuses on the contribution outdoor and nature-focused engagement can make to a person’s health and wellbeing. Outdoor experiences are an important and on-going aspect of a person’s physical literacy journey. In their early years they may involve learning in a Forest-School-type setting as part of early years education or simply playing and exploring nature and the local countryside with family and friends. Slightly older children may become Scouts and Guides whilst at school young teenagers may take part in an outdoor education focused residential experience.
As young adults, people may take up any number of outdoor activities and sports to satisfy their outdoor ‘fix’ including camping, surfing, mountain biking, rock climbing, mountaineering or coasteering etc. Whilst older generations may take up walking, gardening or free swimming. Irrespective of a person’s age or stage of life, being physically active in the outdoors and nature makes a vital contribution to their general health and wellbeing.
Located at the Cynefin Outdoor Wellbeing Hub just one mile from the main Carmarthen campus and alongside the river Towy and All Wales Coast Path, WAHPL is bringing together the work of the Centre for Health & Ageing (CHA) and health board professionals to develop a bespoke outdoor movement track to incorporate ‘green’ exercise features that promote quicker and more active recovery after surgery and improved levels of patient fitness before surgery.
These features will include benches, steps, undulating terrain and low impact exercises for patients to walk, stretch, balance, and exercise to the degree appropriate to their abilities under the guidance of WAHPL exercise specialists. All green exercise activities will be located outside to further promote nature engagement and have adjacent social spaces for people to meet others, connect to help, or address broader mental health concerns that often accompany physical health issues.
Alongside the focus on physical health, WAHPL is also leading research and evaluation of a series of pilot programmes, working with local groups to promote Wellbeing through Nature (Coed Lleol) and Ecotherapy (Hywel Dda HB) for health professionals suffering ‘burnout’ as a result of Covid-19. These outdoor wellbeing programmes aim to empower participants to address mental health concerns including stress, anxiety, depression, loneliness and isolation by taking part in ‘green’ social prescribing activities such as environmental conservation and restoration projects, bushcraft experiences and foraging that promote nature engagement and pro-environmental behaviours.
To learn more about our outdoor research, the MA Outdoor Education, or PhD research in the outdoors, contact Dr Andy Williams at a.williams@uwtsd.ac.uk
Supporting Physical Activity in Old Age
The Centre for Health and Aging (CHA) was established due to the original research of Dr Peter Herbert who investigated the use of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) for older men.
This seminal, globally-recognised research gave insight into the need to consider more bespoke training regimes for the older population and the application of this research in practice led to the establishment of the CHA.
Further research by Dr Herbert and the team have tracked participants over several years and identified aspects and impacts of long-term adherence.
Ongoing PhD research has looked at the impact of strength training for post-menopausal women.
Current research in collaboration with Hywel Dda Health Board is looking at the impact of training programmes as pre-habilitation prior to oncology surgery.
To learn more about this research contact Dr Peter Herbert at p.herbert@uwtsd.ac.uk
Research Excellence Framework (REF)
The work of the Wales Academy for Health and Physical Literacy was part of the UWTSD REF2021 submission. The SKIP Cymru research, publications and programme of professional development were submitted as an impact case study, highlighting the impact of the Academy’s applied research in practice.
Research led by Dr Nalda Wainwright identified a gap in the development of pupils’ motor skills in the Foundation Phase in Wales.
To address this, WAHPL developed and evaluated a programme of professional development in schools and pre-school settings. Successful Kinaesthetic Instruction for Pre-schoolers in Wales (SKIP-Cymru) has trained over 1,000 teachers, early years practitioners, coaches, and parents to be able to improve the physical competence of children in their care.
The programme has gained national recognition through a recommendation in the Health and Social Care Committee report on physical activity and as a best-practice case study featured in the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 support materials. In 2019, following publication of research evaluating the success of SKIP-Cymru, the Welsh Government accepted that Fundamental Motor Skills need to be taught at an early age, and that these should be provided for in the new National Curriculum for Wales. Read more about SKIP Cymru and our evidence-based training programmes.