The Impact of Paralympic School Day on Student Attitudes Toward Inclusion in Physical Education

Abstract

Adviser: Martin Block, Ph.D. Paralympic School Day (PSD) is a disability awareness program that provides a platform for attitude change by raising awareness about disability and disability sport. The purpose of this study was to determine if PSD would have a positive impact on the attitudes of students without disabilities toward the inclusion of students with disabilities in physical education classes, including an exploration of the theoretical underpinnings of the PSD curriculum. The sample comprised of 143 sixth grade students at an Independent school located in New York City. The students were divided into two groups (experimental n = 71, control n = 72), with the experimental group receiving the half-day PSD treatment. All students responded three times to Siperstein's (2006) Adjective Checklist and Block's (1995) Children's Attitudes toward Integrated Physical Education-Revised (CAIPE-R) Questionnaire, which was used as a complete scale and then was divided into two subscales. Four ANCOVA tests were conducted, with the posttest score as the dependent variable, and the pretest score as the covariate. Independent variables were gender and PSD treatment, both including two levels: gender (male/female) and treatment (PSD/No PSD). Results indicated a significant PSD treatment effect across all four measures: Adjective Checklist (p = .046, Partial η² = .03); CAIPE-R (p = .002, Partial η² = .07); Inclusion subscale (p = .001, Partial η² = .08); and Sport Modification subscale (p = .027, Partial η² = .04). These results should be viewed with caution, as the effect sizes were low or moderate and the mean differences were slight. Results did not indicate a gender effect. Forward stepwise regression analyses indicated that competitiveness at the very high level (p = .026, Partial η² = .04), contact at home (p = .017, Partial η² = .04), and contact in general education (p = .022, Partial η² = .04) were significant variables that impacted attitudes negatively, but should be viewed with caution, as effect sizes were low and mean differences were slight. A Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) with a one-factor solution indicated that the fidelity criteria created for this study measured a single construct: Allport's (1954) contact theory.

Effect of Professional Determinants upon Job Performance of Lecturers in Health and Physical Education at College Level

“…These considerations make his/her service worthy. Such agents become a source of admiration and appreciation for him/her (McKay, Block & Park, 2015). The good performance and production of notable students gives motivation to physical ___________________________________________________________________________ 345 education professional in the field.…”

Including Students with Disabilities in a Physical Education Teacher Preparation Program: An Institutional Perspective

“…Parents of children with disability, athletes representing sport clubs for individuals with disabilities, and additional community stakeholders may contribute to children's understanding of and attitudes toward inclusion. The Paralympic School Day activity or Special Olympics School demonstrations are good examples of such community involvement and were found to have a positive impact on attitudes (see [44,45]).…”

Fear or freedom? Visually impaired students’ ambivalent perspectives on physical education

“…According to the basic assumptions of disability studies, and Ashby (2011), research is often conducted about people with disabilities, and tends to emphasize the voices of professionals, while overlooking the voices of those with disabilities (Giese, 2016a; Ruin & Meier, 2018, p. 68). As such, it is not surprising that most previous research activities on subjective constructions of PE primarily refer to the perspectives of parents (Columna et al, 2014), peers without disabilities (McKay et al, 2015), or teachers (Wilhelmsen & Sørensen, 2017). However, research explicitly exploring the perspective of CWVI is critical, and can contribute to our understanding of how PE is constructed by these students and what individual needs result from it (Coates, 2011; Goodwin & Watkinson, 2000).…”