Transcultural validation of the Canadian Assessment of Physical Literacy (CAPL-2) in Brazilian schoolchildren: a pilot study

The aim of this study was to translate and culturally adapt the questionnaires of the Canadian Assessment of Physical Literacy – second edition (CAPL-2) to Brazilian Portuguese, and to evaluate their semantic, conceptual, and cultural equivalence in a school-aged population. A cross-cultural adaptation study was conducted following internationally accepted guidelines. The process involved forward translation, expert consensus, back-translation, expert panel validation, and pilot testing. A panel of six experts evaluated the adapted questionnaires in terms of clarity, theoretical relevance, and practical applicability. The pilot phase included 25 Brazilian schoolchildren aged 8 to 12 years. Statistical analyses included descriptive measures and Kendall’s coefficient of concordance. The expert panel showed a high level of agreement across dimensions, with low variability (CV = 1.6% for practical applicability). Qualitative suggestions led to linguistic and cultural refinements in the final version. In the pilot study, 96% of participants found the questionnaire easy to complete and 92% reported full understanding. In the motivation and confidence domain, 76% of children were classified as “excelling” and 24% as “achieving.” The knowledge and understanding domain showed greater variability, with 24% of participants classified as “excelling,” 32% as “achieving,” 36% as “progressing,” and 8% as “beginning”. The Brazilian Portuguese version of the CAPL-2 questionnaires demonstrates strong acceptability, cultural relevance, and potential for use in educational and public health contexts. These findings support the instrument's continued validation and implementation in Brazil.