International Day of People with Disabilities was just celebrated a few days ago. It is celebrated annually on 3rd December. The United Nations states that “inclusion is an essential condition to upholding human rights, sustainable development, and peace and security. It is also central to the promise of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development to leave no one behind. The commitment to realizing the rights of persons with disabilities is not only a matter of justice; it is an investment in a common future”.
I have obtained my PhD in Inclusive Education at the UCD School of Public Health, Physiotherapy and Sports Science (SPHPSS), which we has an extensive background in researching and supporting people with disabilities. Under the guidance of Dr Ross Neville, I completed my PhD at the School and published my research findings regarding the inclusion of children with special educational needs and disabilities in physical education in Educational Research Review, one of the leading educational journals in Europe.
“…it is crucial that everyone involved in working with kids with disabilities supports and promotes an inclusive environment…”
Since I started my professional career as a physical education teacher, I have always committed to providing physical activity to students, regardless of their level of ability. However, I soon realised that many factors were influencing my ability to provide high-quality physical education classes. Therefore, I decided to commit to a PhD journey and research the level of inclusion of children with special educational needs and disabilities in physical education classes. I wanted to find out whether the challenges that I was experiencing were common among other PE teachers as well.
I joined the SPHPSS in September 2018, and as a multidisciplinary setting, this school provided the perfect environment for conducting my research. During my years within the School, I had the privilege to work closely with well-established researchers who supported my research throughout the journey. The SPHPSS also gave me the opportunity and the honour to be part of the CHAS Disability Working Group, which supported students and staff with disabilities within the UCD College of Health and Agricultural Sciences.
This supportive environment and the experience that I gained in this setting were crucial for conducting my first scientific work, which resulted in a manuscript published in one of the leading journals for educational research. This article investigated the factors associated with physical education teachers’ attitudes towards the inclusion of children with disabilities and special educational needs. The reason why I decided to focus on teachers stems from the fact that, as the most proximal factor, teachers have been deemed to be one of the most important factors influencing inclusion. Their attitudes, in particular, have been deemed pivotal for fostering an inclusive environment within the classroom. Furthermore, since one of the proffered benefits of physical education is its pedagogical flexibility and the ability of teachers to adapt lessons to meet the activity preferences of a given class of pupils, at least in principle, I decided to focus on physical education classes. Physical education has also been recognised as an excellent setting for including children with so-called ‘additional needs’, including children with special educational needs and disabilities. Needless to say that I am a former physical education teacher, so this topic is particularly relevant to me, as previously stated.
In this sense, as research has shown that teachers’ inclusive attitudes toward physical education are associated with positive student outcomes, my article provided robust evidence regarding the factors acknowledged by physical education teachers as the most important in influencing their inclusive attitudes. For example, teachers voiced that, despite having generally favourable attitudes towards inclusion, they lacked knowledge and preparation during their formal training.
In summary, my article reviewed all the scientific evidence published in the last five decades in the field of physical education teachers’ attitudes and found that:
- Teachers would benefit from more formal training related to inclusive practice within physical education classes.
- Experience in working with students with disabilities and special educational needs is positively associated with more favourable attitudes.
- The type and degree of disability are still a major concern among teachers (for example, teachers found it more challenging working with children with emotional and behavioural disorders rather than learning or physical disabilities).
- Teachers would benefit from the collaboration and support of other teachers, students without disabilities, and parents of children with disabilities.
- Teachers would also benefit from more appropriate support from students without disabilities and parents of children with disabilities and special educational needs.
The findings from this article revealed that, despite teachers having positive and favourable attitudes toward inclusion, there are environment-related factors that can negatively influence their attitudes and the inclusion of children with disabilities and special educational needs within physical education classes, and more generally, school. In this regard, my article shows that the provision of extensive training opportunities for pre-service teachers should be considered a priority among teacher educators, and higher institutions should offer more inclusive-related trainings to pre-service teachers. Furthermore, my work revealed that it is crucial that everyone involved in working with kids with disabilities supports and promotes an inclusive environment, regardless of the setting. My findings align very well with previous research, which has shown that exposure to different types of disabilities and special needs can foster an inclusive environment and promote a valuable experience for children with and without disabilities.
Delivering high-quality physical education is not only associated with physical and mental benefits for children and adolescents with and without disabilities, but it can offer a microcosm of socio-emotional interactions and relationships that can strengthen students’ (with and without disabilities) interpersonal and social skills. Therefore, school staff, parents, and coaches should aim to cooperate and facilitate the inclusion and active participation of children with disabilities and special educational needs in every setting (e.g., physical education classes, team sports, leisure and social activities, etc.).
My full article in Educational Research Review can be found here.
Giampiero Tarantino 