Listening to the ‘voices’ of students with severe learning difficulties through a task‐based approach to research and learning in physical education

Fitzgerald, Hayley; Jobling, Anne; Kirk, David

doi:10.1111/1467-9604.00294

Cited by 27 publications

(53 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…When Peter, Axel and Daniel described how it happened and on whose initiative, it was obvious that the parents were important. The results thereby support the research that has shown that it is most often adults close to the child who express and protect the child's needs (Fitzgerald et al, 2003). Moa's story is, however, an exam-ple of negative discrimination and of how such inadequate treatment and lack of understanding of the child's needs result in crushed self-esteem (Blinde & McCallister, 1998;Goodwin & Watkinson, 2000).…”

Section: Establishing Oneself In Sportsupporting

confidence: 85%

“…While some research has examined teachers' experiences of Physical Education and Health (PEH), a gap exists in the literature about the experiences of children and young people with disabilities involved in sport activities (c.f., Fitzgerald, Jobling, & Kirk, 2003;Smith & Thomas, 2006). For many children and young people, sport forms a significant part of their lives, shaping their development into members of society and the sorts of people they become.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, very little research has attempted to define inclusive activities from an individual participation perspective (Maxwell & Granlund, 2011;Smith & Tomas, 2006). This is in particular true of children with complex needs and difficulties in communicating in speech and writing (Fitzgerald et al, 2003). Based on that argument, it is problematic that children and young people seldom have a chance to voice their opinions and hence have limited influence on their sports activities.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Experiences and Perceptions of Young Adults with Physical Disabilities on Sports

Wickman

2015

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People with disabilities seldom get a chance to voice their opinions on their sport experiences. A deeper understanding of the context-related experiences of sport is a prerequisite for teachers and leaders to be able to provide adequate, inclusive and meaningful activities. The aim of this qualitative case study was to examine how young people with disabilities made sense of sport, within both the compulsory school system and the voluntary sports movement. The study involved 10 young adults (aged 16 to 29 years) with disabilities, five males and five females. All the participants had rich experiences of sport. An inductive approach to qualitative content analysis of semi-structured interviews was used to enable individuals to explain and give meaning to their experiences of sport including those pertaining to gender and inclusion. The findings illustrated that dominating gender and ability norms influenced the interviewees' understanding of themselves in relation to sport; as a consequence, some of the female interviewees had a more diverse, sometimes contradictory experience of sport than the male interviewees. The basic premise of this study is that researchers can develop more insightful understandings of inclusion by studying the subjective meanings that are constructed by people with disabilities in their sport experiences.

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Section: Establishing Oneself In Sportsupporting

confidence: 85%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Experiences and Perceptions of Young Adults with Physical Disabilities on Sports

Wickman

2015

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“…Some pupils with SEN spend less time in PE lessons and often participate in a narrower PE curriculum when compared to their cohort (Atkinson and Black, 2006;Fitzgerald, 2005;Fitzgerald et al, 2003aFitzgerald et al, , 2003bGoodwin and Watkinson, 2000;Morley et al, 2005;Smith, 2004;Smith and Green, 2004;Sport England, 2001). In attempting to explain these unequal experiences, Smith (2004: 45) suggests that many of the PE teachers that he interviewed claimed to provide 'as much opportunity as possible' in order to meet their legal obligation to include pupils with SEN.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Physical Education and Special Educational Needs in North-West England

Maher¹

2010

Sport Science Review

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T he paper examines the inclusion of pupils with special educational needs (SEN) in mainstream secondary schools from the perspective of physical education (PE) teachers. The findings of this case study, which used individual interviews and was undertaken in the NorthWest of England, suggest that team games are activities which teachers find particularly difficult to plan and deliver in an inclusive way. Specifically, many teachers suggested that there was limited opportunity for individual planning during team games and that they found it difficult to develop and implement rules and adapt games to make them more inclusive. Moreover, there was an expressed feeling among teachers that, first, their initial teacher training (ITT) had not prepared them adequately for their day-to-day endeavours to include pupils with SEN in PE; and, second, that the schools in which they work are not providing them with any inclusion training. Finally, there was a general feeling among PE teachers that they are not receiving enough support from special educational needs coordinators (SENCOs) and learning support assistants (LSAs) whose role is, lest we forget, to enable teachers to include pupils with SEN in the mainstream education system.

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“…Barton (1993) stressed the need for those involved in teaching physical education to listen to the voices of young people with disabilities and those supressed in and through traditional practices (Garrett, 2006). Whilst some studies offer perspectives of young people with disabilities in physical education (Fitzgerald, 2005;Fitzgerald & Jobling, 2004;Fitzgerald, Jobling, & Kirk, 2003a) 'much research in the field has failed to explore the actual nature of young disabled people's experiences from their viewpoint' (Fitzgerald, Jobling, & Kirk, 2003b, p. 192). Listening to the voices of autistic children requires a degree of creativity and sensitivity (Bishton & Lindsay, 2011) and also consideration of theoretical perspectives that allow their voice and experiences to be accentuated.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Capturing the world of physical education through the eyes of children with autism spectrum disorders

Lamb

Firbank

Aldous

2014

Sport, Education and Society

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The potential benefits of physical education (PE) are universal for all pupils. However, facilitating such benefits in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) requires careful planning. This paper reports on a small-scale case study at one school in eastern England, exploring physical education through the eyes of children (n = 5), aged 12-16, with autistic spectrum disorders. Photo-elicitation was adopted as the research tool to accord authority to the voices of the pupils, empowering them to share their feelings towards the subject by capturing significant aspects of physical education. The photographs provided prompts for greater exploration during unstructured interviews. Using the concepts of Bourdieu's reflexive sociology, the paper draws attention to how pupil's embodied dispositions interacted with what may be illustrated as the delimited spaces of the physical education field-physical education changing rooms, physical education corridors, the physical education teacher's office and physical education activities in the development of positive and negative positions and practices. The teacher's office was regarded positively as were activities that provided opportunities for engagement with peers. Opportunities to be heroic, such as scoring a goal for their team or being given an official role were important factors as was the opportunity to engage in some team sports. However, pupils' interaction with the changing rooms and physical education corridors were viewed with trepidation, worry and fear. The paper concludes by highlighting that both positive and negative interactions with the spaces of physical education develop forms of social and symbolic capital shaping the physical education experiences for pupils with ASD. Anticipating barriers presented within these integral fields of physical education space can help in preparing a rich and inclusive experience for pupils with ASD. Teachers may be better informed in providing strategies to facilitate communication and social interaction whilst allowing all pupils to engage positively with physical education.

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Listening to the ‘voices’ of students with severe learning difficulties through a task‐based approach to research and learning in physical education

Cited by 27 publications

References 13 publications

Experiences and Perceptions of Young Adults with Physical Disabilities on Sports

Experiences and Perceptions of Young Adults with Physical Disabilities on Sports

Physical Education and Special Educational Needs in North-West England

Capturing the world of physical education through the eyes of children with autism spectrum disorders

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