Analysing an Early Child Care Physical Literacy Program: A National (Australia) Rugby League Initiative

Early childhood (3 - 5 years) is a critical time for establishing healthy behaviours and attending to early areas of development associated around physical literacy (PL), social and emotional wellbeing (SEWB) and cognitive skills (CS). Alarmingly, recent international research has identified that many young children do not display acceptable and appropriate PL standards. Given that PL, SEWB and CS are intrinsically linked, and with early childhood centres (ECC) ideally placed to foster the development of these important areas of development, it is reasonable to suggest that there is a need to implement PL programs that also focus on these areas of child development programs that go towards developing children's domains. Therefore, the aim of this research was to investigate the effectiveness of the Munchkin Leagues Program (MLP) in promoting children's early years' development. Employing an interpretive qualitative study design (online and semi structured interviews), data were analysed in an attempt to determine the effectiveness of the MLP. Data were sorted using Creswell's (2008) thematic analysis techniques, whilst Leximancer software was further used to develop concepts and cross validate themes. Theorisation of findings was via adopting a lens of PL to further critically examine the suitability and impact of the MLP. A number of common themes were constructed from the study participants' (adults) recorded commentaries that went to support the research aim. Findings indicate that programs, such as the MLP, have a unique potential to deliver quality learning experiences and meet children's early years development within a PL framework.