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Matt Kwan, Associate Professor of Child and Youth Studies and Canada Research Chair in Youth Mental Health and Performance, is forming a national network to boost physical literacy in immigrant children and youth with the support of a $2.5-million Partnership Grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.<\/p><\/div>\n
With the support of a $2.5-million Partnership Grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC), announced July 9<\/a>, Kwan and his team are forming a national network to boost physical literacy in immigrant children and youth.<\/p>\n The Pan-Canadian Community of Practice, which brings together more than 65 community organizations and 45 researchers across 15 academic institutions, aims to expand access to evidence-based physical literacy programs and support positive settlement outcomes.<\/p>\n Physical literacy<\/a> refers to the quality and quantity of bodily movement and having the motivation, confidence, knowledge and understanding to be regularly active.<\/p>\n \u201cAs newcomers to Canada contend with many settlement challenges, physical activity for children and youth may fall by the wayside,\u201d says Acting Vice-President, Research Michelle McGinn. \u201cSSHRC\u2019s tremendous support for Dr. Kwan and his Canada-wide network of partners underscores the importance of addressing the physical and mental health needs of this vulnerable population.\u201d<\/p>\n The project, \u201cCo-creating Opportunities through Physical Literacy for All newcomer children and Youth (CO-PLAY),\u201d begins with the establishment of regional hubs in Victoria, Calgary, Hamilton, Sherbrooke and Halifax.<\/p>\n Academic teams and community partners within these hubs will first identify community organizations already working to support newcomer children and youth through sport and physical activity.<\/p>\n The hubs will then develop comprehensive community profiles that connect existing efforts and identify opportunities for enhancing settlement outcomes.<\/p>\n \u201cWe aim to generate evidence on best practices, support real-time knowledge mobilization, and ensure culturally responsive and sustainable programming,\u201d says Kwan. \u201cUltimately, this partnership seeks to reimagine local ecosystems to better support the physical, social and mental well-being of young newcomers across Canada.\u201d<\/p>\n The research builds on a 2022 pilot project<\/a> Kwan and his team conducted in Calgary called Immigrant-focused Physical Literacy for Youth (IPLAY), a partnership with WinSport<\/a> and the Calgary Catholic Immigration Society.<\/p>\n The eight-week program enabled refugee youths aged 12 to 16 to participate in new activities and games that target different movement skills each week. In addition to Kin-Ball \u2014 a team sport played with an oversized ball \u2014 and archery, youth got to experience activities such as ice luge and human curling \u2014 where team members are pushed across the ice \u2014 at a local arena.<\/p>\n Kwan says IPLAY is an example of how a program to boost physical literacy for newcomer children and youth can be \u201cco-developed with community partners and rigorously evaluated to understand its impact.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThis Partnership Grant will enable us to access existing programs and develop new programs and practices across the CO-PLAY Network, while fostering opportunities to share insights and learn from one another within and across our regional hubs,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n Last week\u2019s funding announcement also included a SSHRC Insight Grant<\/a> supporting Kwan\u2019s project \u201cSustaining physical activity during Transition into Emerging Adulthood: Examining motivational and real-time factors impacting DailY-assessed behaviours \u2013 Project STEADY.\u201d<\/p>\n The project\u2019s international research team is identifying and examining factors causing adolescents to be less physically active as they enter early adulthood.<\/p>\n