PE Teachers Perspectives on their experiences of inclusion of children with disabilities at 2nd level. by Dr. Ona McGrath 

Introduction

The focus of this paper is to provide an insight into PE teachers’ views of including children with disabilities in post primary PE. Areas such as initial teacher education, perceived self-competency, continuing professional development, and lastly, challenges and positives

experienced regarding inclusion are explored. The author draws on selected aspects of research she conducted on the topic as part of her PhD study.

Background

The concept of inclusion can be defined in a variety of ways. However, a single agreed

definition in the educational context has yet to gain traction, reflecting its complexity and contested nature (Winter and O’Raw 2010). The educational context of inclusion in relation to disability means educating students with disabilities in a regular educational setting whereby their needs are met (Tant and Watelain 2016).

This definition of inclusion is adhered in this paper. Both internationally and within the Irish context there has been a shift towards more inclusive educational approaches and systems (Government of Ireland 2004; UNESCO 2015).

A number of legislative measures have firmly established the notion of

inclusion of children with disabilities. In the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2006) Article 24 states in relation to education that persons with disabilities have a right to education without discrimination and on the basis of equal opportunity. 

It further emphasizes the right to an inclusive education (United Nations 2006, article 24). However, this UN Convention has only been recently (March 2018) ratified in Ireland (United Nations 2021). In addition, the World Health Organisation Report on Disability (WHO 2011) recommended that children should be educated in a mainstream setting where possible. 

Furthermore, the UNESCO (2015: Article 1) Charter on PE, Physical Activity and Sport which is a rights based charter, supports inclusive and adapted opportunities to physical education for all.  In the Irish context, the shift towards inclusive education has been influenced by “enabling legislation with a presumption for inclusion” (Shevlin, Winter and Flynn 2013, p. 1119).

Namely, the Education Act 1998, the Equal Status Act 2000, the Education for Persons with Special Needs (EPSEN) Act 2004, the Disability Act 2005 and the Education (Admissions to schools) Bill 2016 form the key legislative influences.  

Situated in this context of the government’s inclusive policy it is important to capture Irish PE teachers’ perspectives on their real life experiences.

PE teachers’ perspectives

It is well established that teacher knowledge, skills and attitude play a central role in the educational experience of children with disabilities (NCSE 2013; Shevlin, Winter and Flynn 2013; Qi, Wang and Ha 2017). The summary findings for this paper are drawn from the qualitative data collected from seven practising PE teachers working with children with disabilities in four mainstream post primary schools in Ireland over a 20 month period.

(McGrath 2019).

The data was gathered using a series of semi-structured interviews and reflective e-journals. To begin with, all participant PE teachers have observed an increase in the number of children with disabilities in their schools. This reflects the shift both nationally (Crawford, O’Reilly and Flanagan 2012) and internationally (Petkova, Kudlácek and

Nikolova 2012) towards the inclusion of children with disabilities in education. 

Some PE teachers expressed concern as they felt they were reaching ‘full capacity’ in relation to supporting children with disabilities and this was becoming stressful and challenging. In light of this, they highlighted the need for PE specific information and resources for inclusion. Encouragingly, the seven PE teachers involved in the research indicated an overall positive

perspective towards inclusion in PE, in line with similar type studies (Ko and Boswell 2013; Qi, Wang and Ha 2017).

However, a number of issues and challenges were acknowledged

such as class sizes, demanding school days, differentiation, segregation and levels of ability

(McGrath et al., 2019).

The majority of PE teachers in this study articulated that they found their initial teacher education (ITE) to be inadequate regarding inclusion in PE. These findings agree with previous Irish (Meegan and MacPhail 2006) and international research (Qi, Wang and Ha 2017). Arising from the findings the following suggestions for PE teacher education providers were made; coherent, consistent and collaborative approach to inclusion across

providers, embedding of inclusion in the majority of modules, and lastly, practicum type

learning experiences with relevant school populations during ITE.

For the most part, PE teachers’ perceived sense of self competency in relation to inclusion appeared somewhat confident with some challenges; Importantly, a strong sense of perceived competence seems to be the vital factor which predicts a positive teacher attitude towards inclusion in PE (Tant and Watelain 2016). All PE teachers in the study voiced the need for continuing professional development (CPD)

that is specific to inclusive PE. 

They particularly highlighted the need for support when working with children with ASD diagnoses and children who are wheelchair users. Their preferred model of CPD was that of a practice based workshop involving children with disabilities, rather than a theoretical session. These findings have implications for organisations such as the Special Education Support Service (under the remit of the NCSE) and the Professional Development Service for Teachers (PDST), which both offer CPD for practising post-primary teachers.

To conclude, PE teachers in this study felt that there is a palpable need for continuing

professional development specific to inclusive PE. The type of continuing professional development preferred is of a practice based nature, directly involving children with disabilities.

Furthermore, the majority of teachers articulated that their initial teacher education was inadequate to meet their current needs regarding inclusion and PE. Exploring the area of perceived competency, teachers felt somewhat comfortable with inclusion, but the word challenge emerged a number of times. Importantly, an overall positive perspective and viewpoint towards inclusion was evident from the participating PE teachers in this research which bodes well for the future