Funded PhD Studentship with Queen Ethelburga's School - Developing motor competence in schools using a physical literacy lens

About the Project

Queen Ethelburga’s sponsored PhD studentship in collaboration with the Carnegie School of Sport, Leeds Beckett University

Queen Ethelburga’s School and the Carnegie School of Sport are seeking to appoint a highly motivated individual to a prestigious PhD studentship.  This is a unique opportunity for an enthusiastic and high-achieving individual looking to undertake a PhD in a vibrant research and athletic development environment. The successful candidate will deliver strength and conditioning and sport science support within Queen Ethelburga’s School alongside their PhD project.

About Queen Ethelburga’s School

Queen Ethelburga’s school is an award-winning independent day and boarding school in North Yorkshire, recognised for combining academic excellence with outstanding pastoral care and co-curricular opportunity. Educating pupils from infancy through to sixth form, the school offers a dynamic and ambitious environment in which students are encouraged to thrive academically, socially and personally. Its modern campus provides exceptional facilities and a strong community ethos, supporting the development of confident, well-rounded young people.

Sport is a central part of life at Queen Ethelburga’s, with a well-established reputation for excellence in performance sport and athlete development. The school’s Elite Performance Programme provides talented student-athletes with access to high-quality coaching, strength and conditioning, sport science support and first-class training facilities, enabling them to pursue sporting success alongside their education. With a strong commitment to long-term development, wellbeing and holistic success, Queen Ethelburga’s offers an innovative setting where education and high-performance sport are integrated to help young people reach their full potential.

Topic: Developing motor competence in schools using a physical literacy lens

Across many nations, youths are experiencing low and declining levels of physical activity, motor competence and physical and mental wellbeing, creating significant concern for educators, health professionals and sport practitioners. Motor competence (i.e., a person’s capacity to execute a range of motor skills, where outcomes are shaped by movement quality, control, and coordination) offers the physical foundation for safe, enjoyable and effective participation in movement, physical activity and sport. Physical literacy, defined as our relationship with movement and physical activity throughout life (Foweather et al., 2024), provides a framework for understanding young people’s holistic relationship with movement and physical activity.

Established youth development models emphasise that children should first develop broad movement foundations before progressing towards specialised sporting performance (Lloyd and Oliver, 2012). Skills such as running, jumping, landing, balancing, changing direction, throwing, catching, pushing and bracing are transferable across a wide range of sports and physical activities for all young people (Radnor et al., 2020). However, how we design and deliver such programmes, considering how young people move, think, feel and connect are important considerations for enhancing individual’s motor competence and lifelong physical literacy.

Schools are central to this agenda because they provide the most consistent opportunity to reach all children (Till et al., 2021). However, prioritisation of sport and competition, could be detrimental to developing motor competence for all youths within schools (Penney et al., 2009). Programmes that emphasise enjoyment, challenge, inclusion, autonomy and progression are more likely to foster positive movement identities and lifelong engagement (Curran and Standage, 2017). However, research exploring such interventions are limited (e.g., Van Rossum et al., 2025). This research aims to explore the design, delivery and evaluation of motor competence programmes using a physical literacy lens in schools.

For further information on how to apply please go to this link

Funding Notes

Type of Funding Available: Home (UK) Fees and Stipend

Stipend Value: £20,780

International candidates will be required to pay the international fee top up and are advised to contact our Research Admissions team researchadmissions@leedsbeckett.ac.uk

References

Key readings:
Burton, A.M. et al. (2025) ‘Motor competence, physical fitness, psychosocial, and physical activity characteristics in 9-to 14-year-olds: Sex differences and age and maturity considerations’, Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, 96(1), pp. 171-182.
Foweather L, et al. (2024) ‘Co-development of the Physical Literacy Consensus Statement for England’, Eur J Public Health. 26;34
Helme, M., Cowburn, I. and Till, K. (2025) ‘Developing the physical fitness of children: A systematic scoping review of pedagogy in research’, Sports, 13(9), p. 309.
Pullen, B.J. et al. (2020) ‘The effects of strength and conditioning in physical education on athletic motor skill competencies and psychological attributes of secondary school children: A pilot study’, Sports, 8(10), p. 138.
Radnor, J.M. et al. (2020) ‘Developing athletic motor skill competencies in youth’, Strength and Conditioning Journal, 42(6), pp. 54-70.
Till, K., Bruce, A., Green, T., Morris, S.J., Boret, S. and Bishop, C.J., 2022. Strength and conditioning in schools: a strategy to optimise health, fitness and physical activity in youths. British journal of sports medicine, 56(9), pp.479-480.
Till, K. et al. (2025) ‘Challenges and solutions to supporting physical literacy within youth sport’, Sports Medicine, pp. 1-13.
Van Rossum T, et al. (2025) ‘Exploring the feasibility of a ‘Move to Sport’ programme for secondary Physical Education’, Curriculum Studies in Health and Physical Education, 1-20.