Construction of an evaluation index system for core literacy in physical education and health for Chinese college students

Under the "Sports Powerhouse" and "Healthy China" initiatives, this study aims to establish an evaluation index system for core literacy in physical education and health for Chinese college students. This system will provide standards for developing core literacy among college students, promoting their physical and mental well-being and lifelong healthy living, and enhancing their comprehensive literacy. Qualitative text analysis was employed to examine the collected literature, and an initial indicator system was drafted based on expert interview feedback. The Delphi method was used to screen and refine the indicators through two rounds of expert surveys, ultimately constructing the evaluation indicator system. The analytic hierarchy process was applied to calculate the weight of each indicator. University administrators responsible for creating public physical education curricula were asked to provide an initial evaluation of the viability and surface validity of the indicator system in their own institutional contexts using a questionnaire survey method. (1) The evaluation index system for core literacy in physical education and health for Chinese college students comprises three primary indicators-athletic ability, healthy behaviors, and sports ethics-along with 15 secondary indicators and 45 tertiary indicators. (2) The weight coefficients for the primary indicators are as follows: sports ethics and character (0.3857) > healthy behaviors (0.3570) > athletic ability (0.2573). (3) According to the evaluation results from 16 leaders in charge of creating university physical education curricula, 100% and 93.75% of the leaders, respectively, believe that the evaluation indicators help students develop their core abilities. Leaders from different levels of institutions show variances in their scores. This study establishes a set of evaluation index system for core literacy in physical education and health among Chinese college students. It provides a scientific benchmark for measuring and cultivating these competencies, thereby enhancing the quality of physical education curricula in higher education institutions and promoting the holistic development of college students.