The Examination of Physical Education Teachers' Perceptions of Their Teacher Training to Include Students with Disabilities in General Physical Education.

摘要

Despite legislative mandates, only 32% of states require specific licensure in adapted physical education (APE); consequently, general physical educators are challenged with including students with disabilities into regular classrooms. Although physical education teachers are considered qualified personnel to teach students with disabilities in general physical education (GPE), teachers expressed the need to receive additional training toward inclusion. In the United States, Public Law 108-446 governs that schools allow individuals with disabilities to participate equally with GPE students. Though legislation mandates that these students have full inclusion it is evident that oftentimes students with disabilities are not provided with equal opportunities as compared to their counterparts in physical education and activity. Because of the lack of participation in physical education, these students are legally excluded from the same educational experiences as their peers. Physical education teacher education (PETE) programs should significantly impact pre-service teachers' ability to support inclusion. If university teacher preparation programs are responsible for preparing educators to promote inclusion for students with disabilities, then examining the perceptions of physical education teachers' initial training could ensure these programs are meeting their intended goals. The purpose of this qualitative exploratory case study was to examine physical education teachers' perceptions of their teacher training to include students with disabilities in GPE. Five certified physical educators from a K12 urban school district in central Kansas served as participants in this study. Data collection was conducted through anonymous online interviews using SurveyMonkey. QRS NVivo software was employed to systematically organize codes from the interviews. Three themes emerged in relation to the research questions. Implications were: (a) teacher training raised awareness toward students with disabilities, (b) more specific teacher training related to students with disabilities is needed, and (c) a lack of resources is the primary obstacle teachers encounter when including students with disabilities in GPE. It is recommended that efforts to evaluate PETE training methods, ensure physical education teachers are adequately prepared toward inclusion, and provide students with disabilities fair and equal opportunities in physical education endure.