PhD Oral Exam - Matthew Miller, Individualized Program

When studying for a doctoral degree (PhD), candidates submit a thesis that provides a critical review of the current state of knowledge of the thesis subject as well as the student’s own contributions to the subject. The distinguishing criterion of doctoral graduate research is a significant and original contribution to knowledge.

Once accepted, the candidate presents the thesis orally. This oral exam is open to the public.

Abstract

Childhood obesity and physical inactivity is a growing problem across Canada and worldwide. The concept of physical literacy is used to address and promote physical activity participation in children. When children increase their participation in physical activities and sports they also increase their exposure to musculoskeletal injury. The concepts of physical literacy do not address injury prevention concepts, so an assessment of physical literacy that considers injury risk is needed. This dissertation reports the results of multiple projects supporting a new process-based assessment tool that can be used to assess movement competence and injury risk in 8–12 year old children. Three papers are included in this thesis. The first paper explores the connection between physical literacy and injury prevention, the second describes the reliability of a new process-based assessment tool called the Child Focused Injury Risk Screening Tool (ChildFIRST), and the third paper examines the normative data for the ChildFIRST.

Chapter one orients the reader to the major concepts throughout the document and states the objectives and hypothesis of each chapter.

Chapter two is a literature review describing the connection between physical literacy and injury prevention, providing a background for the next two chapters. Physical literacy is generally assessed through four domains: daily behaviour, confidence and understanding, knowledge and understanding, and physical competence. Physical competence is typically assessed by evaluating a child’s fundamental movement skills (locomotion, balance, and object control). Fundamental movement skills are assessed with either a product-based evaluation (time, speed, repetitions) or a process-based evaluation (body positioning and movement technique). The concepts of body positioning and movement technique are found in the injury prevention literature and provide the link between the physical literacy and injury prevention paradigms. Chapter two concludes by recommending the use of a process-based assessment of physical literacy to work on connecting the gap between physical literacy and injury prevention. Chapter two provides the theoretical background for the development of the ChildFIRST The ChildFIRST includes ten movements with four evaluation criteria with the intention to evaluate movement competence and injury risk in the 8-12-year-old population.

Chapter three establishes and discusses the inter- and intra-rater reliability of both the movement skills and evaluation criteria for the ChildFIRST. Movement skill inter-rater reliability ranged from -0.306 to 0.938 ICC, intra-rater reliability ranged from -0.386 to 0.881 ICC. Evaluation criteria interrater reliability ranged from -0.04 to 0.835 Kαand 52–100% agreement, intra-rater reliability ranged from -0.328 to 0.303 Cohen’s K and 45.8–98.6% agreement. Chapter three concludes by indicating that the ChildFIRST can help provide users important data about movement competence and that the ChildFIRST can be used to conduct cross-sectional studies evaluating movement competence in the 8-12 age group.

Chapter four describes a study evaluating the normative data, sex differences, and correlations for a sample of 146 children. All movements were normally distributed except running. No significant differences between males and females were identified on any movement skill except single leg sideways hop and hold. Higher levels of physical activity participation were positively associated with higher scores on the ChildFIRST. Higher BMI was negatively associated with lower scores on the vertical jump and bodyweight squat movement. The ChildFIRST demonstrated the ability to distinguish between higher and lower levels of movement competence. Children who reported higher weekly physical activity levels scored higher on the ChildFIRST. The normative data described in this study can be used by physical education teachers, clinicians, and other stakeholders to compare individual data to scores on the ChildFIRST.

Chapter five is a general discussion summarizing the objectives of the dissertation, explores new literature after the publication of chapters two and three, discusses future directions, and offers specific recommendations for future research to help progress the development of the ChildFIRST.