20.500.12556/DKUM-100130 Physical literacy across years of study evidence from Slovenian higher education Introduction: Physical literacy is increasingly conceptualized as a multidimensional and lifelong construct integrating physical competence, motivation, confidence, knowledge, understanding, and behavioral engagement in physical activity. Although the construct has been widely examined among children and adolescents, less is known about differences in physical literacy across years of higher education. Methods: This cross-sectional study investigated whether year of study is associated with differences in physical literacy domains among Slovenian university students. A total of 302 students enrolled in the first to fourth years of study at Slovenian higher education institutions completed the Slovenian 41-item adaptation of the College Student Physical Literacy Questionnaire. One-way ANOVA and Scheffe post-hoc tests were used to examine differences across study years. Results: The largest differences were observed in the Cognitive Domain, followed by cognition of physical activity and cognition of healthy lifestyle. Significant differences were also found for physical activity, motivation to participate in physical activity, and the Behavioral Domain. In contrast, no significant differences were observed for the Physical Domain, Emotional Domain, sedentary behavior, or confidence. Post-hoc analyses indicated that the most consistent differences occurred between first- and second-year students. Discussion: The findings suggest that differences across years of university study are primarily evident in cognitive and behavioral components of physical literacy, whereas perceived physical competence and emotional components remain comparatively stable. Universities may therefore represent important settings for supporting lifelong physical literacy through curricular and extracurricular strategies that strengthen knowledge, awareness, motivation, and active behavioral engagement. cognitive domain emerging adulthood health promotion higher education physical activity physical literacy university students kognitivno področje prehod v odraslost promocija zdravja visokošolsko izobraževanje gibalna dejavnost gibalna pismenost študenti true false true Angleški jezik Slovenski jezik Znanstveno delo 2026-09-05 03:09:20 2026-09-07 09:24:18 2026-09-08 03:09:21 0000-00-00 00:00:00 2026 0 0 11 str. Vol. 8 2026 0000-00-00 Zaloznikova Objavljeno NiDoloceno 2026-07-17 2026-07-21 2026-07-30 378.091.8:796/799(497.4) 286776579 10.3389/fspor.2026.1922726 2624-9367 RAZ_Matejek_Crtomir_2026.pdf RAZ_Matejek_Crtomir_2026.pdf 1 B8FD058AB5A1853AC3983934E943E56C 329d51c9aba323a24f2070a798688977471720efb748169fc6b7499421d79e74 22289b2d-aa8e-11f1-ba3a-00155d0001be https://dk.um.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=211712 https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/sports-and-active-living/articles/10.3389/fspor.2026.1922726/full 1 6d1d92a8-a8c6-11f1-b76c-00155d0001be https://dk.um.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=211608 Pedagoška fakulteta 0 0 0