Abstract
Physical education teachers play a significant role in educating students with special education needs, but they often feel frustrated and unprepared to achieve a successful inclusion process. The lack of inadequate training has proven to have an unfavorable effect on educators’ perceived competence, confidence, and attitudes when working in inclusive settings with children with disabilities. This study evaluates the effect of a training program implemented with in-service physical educators from two different regions in Spain, insular and peninsular, in order to improve their self-efficacy in including students with disabilities in physical education. A pre- vs. post-test intervention was conducted with two groups of 142 in-service physical educators with similar age and teaching experience. The intervention improved their perceived self-efficacy in including students with physical, visual, and intellectual disabilities in physical education (p < 0.01, effect sizes = large). The physical educators teaching in the insular region improved their self-efficacy to a higher extent. This study demonstrates the invariant effect of the training program in both regions, but the self-efficacy scores of the physical educators might be constrained by the contents regarding inclusion in their pre-service training, the education policies of the region where the teaching takes place or the geographical characteristics of their workplace.
Highlights
Students with disabilities are increasingly included in mainstream education systems
This seems to be a common situation in many countries, as it was reported in the latest Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALYS) that 22% of teachers across the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) asked for more training in teaching students with special needs [4]
It seems clear that investing in teacher training is crucial for the effective delivery of the UNESCO Education Agenda, as teachers who present adequate subject and pedagogic content knowledge and are well-trained in the necessary skills can make a huge difference in educating students, especially those with special needs [9]
Summary
Students with disabilities are increasingly included in mainstream education systems. Many PE teachers feel that their education system did not sufficiently prepare them to undertake this role [3] This seems to be a common situation in many countries, as it was reported in the latest Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALYS) that 22% of teachers across the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) asked for more training in teaching students with special needs [4]. Because of this, investigating teacher-training programs is necessary for the understanding of evidence-based inclusive practices and to address common concerns and misconceptions about inclusion. When this happens, PETs apply strategies in practice, design learning experiences for students of all abilities, and support participation by students with disabilities, resulting in increased student learning [10]. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, studies that present evidence-based strategies based on action-oriented pedagogy to promote education for sustainability in PE are scarce
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