Barriers and facilitators to inclusion in integrated physical education: Adapted physical educators’ perspectives

Abstract

While movement toward the education of students with disabilities in integrated physical education has now become common internationally, it is not without concerns. Notably, scholars have questioned whether instruction in integrated physical education settings provides inclusive experiences for students with disabilities. The purpose of this exploratory study was to explore certified adapted physical educators’ (CAPEs’) perspectives on barriers and facilitators to students with disabilities experiencing inclusion in integrated physical education. A sample of 99 CAPEs (74.7% female) across the United States provided valid responses to an online survey form. Guided by the established two-step coding protocol, two independent reviewers coded the responses to open-ended questions. In total, 460 barriers and 473 facilitators that fell into seven categories were identified. Among these, both teacher-related barriers and facilitators were more commonly reported than other factors, such as environmental and policy barriers/facilitators. As such, it appears that the participants placed onus on ensuring the inclusiveness of integrated physical education classes largely on the shoulders of the teachers. In addition, codes related to programmatic or equipment-related factors were underreported, suggesting that even in integrated physical education classes where adapted equipment (i.e. equipment facilitator) and personnel support (i.e. programmatic facilitator) are available, inclusive experience may not be. These findings suggest inclusiveness of integrated physical education is complex and influenced by numerous factors.

Physical Education Teachers’ Self-Efficacy toward Including Students with Autism in Saudi Arabia

“…Successfully achieving inclusion in PE depends on having well-prepared and wellqualified PE teachers [7,8]. Despite the pivotal role PE teachers play in ensuring that such inclusive educational policies are successfully implemented [9][10][11], overall, PE teachers remain under-prepared and ill-equipped to meet the challenges of providing inclusive educational environments [12]. This has reflected negatively on general PE classes, with some PE teachers reporting that they struggle to include students with disabilities in their general PE classes and often feel unable to satisfy this cohort's specific educational needs [13,14], resulting in negative experiences of PE for both students and teachers [15,16].…”

“WOT” Do We Know and Do About Physical Activity of Children and Adolescents With Disabilities? A SWOT-Oriented Synthesis of Para Report Cards

“…The involvement of children with and without disabilities in a collaborative and reflective use of adapted tools and equipment was found useful for developing inclusive learning strategies (Kristén et al, 2022). However, access to adapted equipment and supportive personnel may not guarantee successful inclusion (Haegele et al, 2021). Also, the French team perceived an "improved accessibility of school sports equipment.…”

Accommodation Strategies for Students with Disabilities in the Classroom

“…However, some developed countries have proper inclusive education systems and the governments of these countries provide more flexible facilities to specially-abled children. Besides that, the most common reason behind the establishment of barriers for disabled students is a lack of awareness in institutions [8]. Many educators are unaware of laws about specially-abled children that suggest equal rights to the education levels of…”