Still feeling like a spare piece of luggage? Embodied experiences of (dis)ability in physical education and school sport

Negotiating the discursive spaces of inclusive education: narratives of experience from contemporary Physical Education

“…Barton (2009) recently characterised the need to critically analyse the conditions, relations and practices of the subject as urgent due, in part, to the overall lack of a focus on disability and rather a tokenistic, 'bolt-on' approach when first adopted, but also due to revelations in the existing research which point to large discrepancies between the rhetoric of inclusive practice and what is actually taking place in PE lessons. Given PE's historical legacy of being closely tied up to the practice of sport and performance cultures, and society's increasing focus on the 'cult of slenderness' and the 'ideal' body (Tinning 1997(Tinning , 2010Turner 1996), there are concerns that bodies which fall short of the ideal continue to be defined as inferior and are being marginalised despite a curriculum framed by a valorisation of difference (Fitzgerald, Jobling, and Kirk 2003;Fitzgerald 2005). There is research that suggests that many PE classes construct learning spaces which normalise a celebration of able-bodied pupils and offer a relatively narrow range of 'acceptable' ways to move the body (see e.g.…”

“…In summarising the young people's 'positive experiences' of curricular PE, it seems that being able to spend time with friends in PE lessons can be important for one's self-identity due to the subject's popularity among peers; it is possible to benefit from the effects of physical training; and young people with disabilities, like their ableodied peers, report that they feel a sense of mastery when they successfully perform meaningful tasks (Goodwin and Watkinson, 2000;Fitzgerald 2005). There appear, however, to be a greater number of 'negative experiences' from PE lessons in the research findings.…”

“…being taught in another locality by other non-PE staff) or limited inclusion (for example, being positioned as an observer or passive participant such as a referee) are common practices (Blinde and McAllister 1998;Goodwin and Watkinson 2000;Smith 2009). Secondly, and often as the result of the latter, too many young people with disabilities experience being made to feel like 'outsiders' or 'incompetent' by peers, or are teased in PE lessons (Doubt and McCall 2003;Fitzgerald 2005;Hutzler et al 2002;Smith 2009). Thirdly, PE teachers are also reported to make young disabled students feel marginalised because they appear to lack the knowledge or lack the confidence to adapt teaching and learning tasks in their lessons, and do little to encourage their active participation (Blinde and McAllister 1998;Doubt and McCall 2003;Fitzgerald 2005;Goodwin 2001).…”

“…'Deficits' have been identified, and adapted and/or compensatory physical educational strategies have been developed in relation to the 'normal', 'able'-bodied student, rather than seeking to understand the actual insights and embodied experiences of young people with a disability (Barton 2009;Fitzgerald 2005). Young disabled people's narratives can bridge the socio-cultural history of PE and disability with biography, avoiding both the pathologising of the disabled body or too much focus on structural issues at the expense of embodied subjects.…”

Experiences and Perceptions of Young Adults with Physical Disabilities on Sports

“…Over the past 20 years, the inclusion of students in need of special support in mainstream educational settings has increased in many countries (Fitzgerald, 2005;Smith & Thomas, 2006). Though "inclusion" is a political term more frequently used in the compulsory school system (Maxwell & Granlund, 2011;Nilholm, 2006).…”