History of inclusive physical education in Africa

Abstract

Inclusive physical education in Africa with reference to the Nigerian context is just a recent development stemming from global awakening on the necessity of including persons with disabilities in the affairs of the society. The entrenched discrimination of persons with disabilities in Nigerian society could be found in the philosophy and objective of the traditional and formal Nigerian physical education. Provisions for the participation of persons with disabilities in physical activities were conspicuously absent until recently when loose statements were made in the National Policy on Education in Nigeria concerning persons with disabilities. Even the recent National Policy on Education also failed to emphasize physical education of persons with disabilities. Hence, there were no guidelines on how inclusive physical education could be implemented. This review concluded that inclusive physical education in Nigeria has a nascent history and policies are still fledgling, undermining the development of inclusive physical education in Nigeria. This is worsened by policy inconsistency in education in Nigeria. With reference to South Africa, there is some historical work that reported that sport for athletes with special needs in South Africa and the historical recording of inclusive physical education remains neglected. It is true that there has been a positive shift in the cultural attitude towards athletes with special needs in post-Apartheid South Africa but racial, gender and class inequalities remain a challenge for sport administrators. In the Angolan educational system, inclusion of individuals with disabilities in physical education is a new concept. In fact, adapted physical education was officially included as a service for individuals with disabilities through Article 33 of the Executive Decree number 305/17 in 2017 (Diario da Republica, 2017). The purpose of this chapter is to provide an overview of the different periods of the inclusion of individuals with disabilities in the educational systems of Nigeria, South Africa and Angola. The status of inclusion of individuals with disabilities in regular physical education classes seems not to have met recognized international standards.