Opinions of Physical Education and Sports Teachers Working in Special Education Schools About Their Lessons

Assessment practices of special need students have been a concern in the educational system of most countries, especially in Nigeria. The aim of this study is to examine the assessment practice of special need students in special education Schools in Zamfara state, Nigeria. The Survey design was adopted for this study. The population of the study comprised all the 55 teachers (special educators) in the two (2) School for Special Education in Zamfara State, which include School for Special Education Gusau and School for Special Education Gummi. School for Special Education Gusau and School for Special Education Gummi have 37 and 18 teachers respectively. Purposive or judgmental sampling technique was used to select all the 55 teachers of special education schools in Zamfara state from whom, we could gain deep insights and understandings of assessment practices in special schools. The instrument used for data collection is a researcher designed questionnaire namely “Special Educators’ Assessment Practice Questionnaire (SEAPQ)”. The Data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics of Weighted Mean and Standard Deviation. The results showed that the components of student assessment practice conducted among special need students are curriculum-based assessments, intelligence Quotient (IQ), Test screening test, academic achievements, developmental assessments and end-of-grade assessments, and the methods of assessment used are formative assessment, summative assessment, speech therapy evaluation/language scales, developmental scales, diagnostic assessment, standardized test and direct observation. The findings also revealed that special educators’ professional competence in choosing assessment methods appropriate for special need students, administering, scoring, and interpreting of their results and recognizing unethical and inappropriate assessment methods are inadequate. Based on these findings, it was recommended that Special educators should be train on all the components of assessments practices that will benefit special needs students learning outcomes.

The attitudes of teachers working in special education schools towards games, sports, and physical activities are crucial for the participation of students with special needs in these lessons and for promoting their physical activity levels. Participation in physical activity positively affects the physical, social, psychological, and spiritual development of students with special needs. This study aims to evaluate the attitudes of physical education and special education teachers towards games, sports, and physical activities lessons in terms of various variables.The study involved 50 physical education teachers and 192 special education teachers working in special education schools. Data were collected using the "Attitude Scale Towards Games and Physical Activities Lesson," and ethical approval was obtained before the research. Descriptive statistics, normality tests, ANOVA, and independent samples t-tests were used for data analysis.Results indicated that gender, age, total professional experience, and school level did not significantly affect teachers' attitudes (p .05). However, physical education teachers had significantly higher attitude scores compared to special education teachers, and the service period in the current school also revealed a significant difference in attitudes (p .05).These findings suggest that attitudes vary by teaching branch and current school tenure but are independent of other factors. The more positive attitudes of physical education teachers are likely linked to their training background. Conversely, the decrease in attitude scores with longer tenure at the same school may reflect reduced motivation. In-service training programs are recommended to raise awareness among special education teachers and support active student participation.Keywords: Disabled Students, Games-Sports and Physical Activities, Physical Education, Special Education, Teacher Attitude.

This research was conducted to determine the classroom management competencies of special education teachers working in special education schools. The study group of the research consists of 25 special education teachers working in three different types of special education schools in Üsküdar district of Istanbul. The participants of the study were determined by the maximum diversity method. The data were obtained with a semi-structured interview form developed by the researcher by taking expert opinion. The following questions were asked to the teachers: “As a teacher working in special education schools, what is your competence in managing the physical environment?” “As a teacher working in special education schools, what is your ability to carry out education and training in a healthy way?” “As a teacher working in special education schools, what is your ability to use time effectively and efficiently?” “As a teacher working in special education schools, what is your competence in communicating effectively with students?”, “What is your competence in managing student behavior as a teacher working in special education schools?” questions were posed. According to the research, it has been observed that the most important issue that teachers pay attention to while managing the physical environment is the characteristics such as the type of disability and behavioral problems of the students. It has been observed that the way for teachers to carry out education and training in a healthy way is to determine the performance of students, to prepare individualized education plans, activities and materials suitable for their performance and individual differences. It has been determined that teachers prepare lesson plans, activities, methods, techniques and materials in advance in order to use time effectively and efficiently while managing the classroom. It has been determined that the teachers determine the communication method according to the student's characteristics in terms of communicating effectively with the students. It has been observed that teachers prepare behavior change plans while managing student behaviors, use reinforcements for the continuity of positive behaviors, use methods such as ignoring to extinguish negative behaviors, and also determine the classroom rules. According to the findings, the most common problems in classroom management were determined as "student's behavior problems", "inadequate physical conditions of the classroom", "program density", "different learning levels of the students ", "lack of family support". In the classroom management process, the physical conditions of the classrooms should be improved, equipment deficiencies should be eliminated, and material diversity should be increased. Teachers should be supported, and the content and number of in-service trainings should be increased for the development of teachers.

Özel Eğitim Okullarının Yönetimsel Sorunları/Administrative Problems of Special Education Schools

This study reports on a series of workshops on Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) conducted in the Sekhukhune District of Limpopo Province with teachers from five special education schools. The purpose of the study was to examine the integration of AAC tools in special education schools and assess their impact on inclusivity. It was established that AAC tools are changing special education schools by providing learners with Complex Communication Needs (CCN) techniques to express themselves. These tools, ranging from non-verbal communication systems to advanced speech-generating devices (SGDs), aim to enhance inclusivity and learner participation in classroom activities. Following a qualitative research approach, the study focused on teacher perspectives and classroom practices regarding AAC implementation. Seventeen (17) special education teachers from five schools who attended an AAC training workshop were purposively selected to participate in the study. Data were collected through interviews and analysed using thematic content analysis based on Creswell’s model. Findings indicated that a lack of structured training programs prevents teachers from effectively implementing AAC tools, forcing them to rely on gestures and picture-based communication due to limited access to advanced technologies.Discussions highlighted the urgent need to improve teacher capacity and resource availability.To address these challenges, the study recommends comprehensive teacher training, policy support, and the integration of AAC tools into classrooms. This study contributes to scholarship by providing evidence on how AAC tools can redefine teaching methods and promote inclusivity in special education schools across the Sekhukhune District, offering insights for policymakers, teacher educators, and practitioners in inclusive education.

The purpose of this study was to find out the present status of physical educators in special schools, such as having the teacher's license or not, learning special education before or after the graduation, problems in teaching, recommendations for teaching or educators of physical education in special schools from now on, and so on.The method of this study was the questionnaire technique. As the results, the answers were gathered from 1028 physical educators in 287 different special schools, and followings were deduced;1. It is difficult to say that the system of teacher's license and the policy of educational services are well, because only a quarter of the subjects have qualified licenses for physical education in special schools and the majority of them do not wish to place themselves in special schools.2. It is guessed that experiences of the subjects for special education are quite poor, because less than 30 percent of them have some study about special education before the graduation and the majority of them have up to 5-year teaching career in special schools and many of them are new hands.3. Almost of all subjects have many problems in teaching. Main problem of them is how to deal with the difference in abilities or proficiencies of each pupil, however, many of them are related with instruction techniques and the knowledges of teaching, so it is possible to solve the problems due to promote and improve the curricula of teacher's colleges or universities and educational environment in special schools.4. Physical educators in special schools do want to emphasize physical fitness of the handicapped rather than sports skills of them, and to engage not only the teachers interested but all other colleague in teaching the handicapped. And over 80 percent of them recognize and recommend the necessity of studying about the handicapped before the graduation.5. However, totally saying, from the view point of the system of license and the policy of educational services, the surroundings of physical educators in special schools are not adequate, and of course, it is guessed that the system and the policy do not discharge their duty. In other words, after solving the above all problem and developing the field of special education, it seems that the future status of physical education for the handicapped will become bright.

The purpose of this research is to discuss teacher competencies and qualifications in special education schools, special education classes, counseling and research centers (CRC), and special education rehabilitation centers (SERC) for providing educational support services (ESS) to individuals with special needs (SEN). This research was designed as qualitative research, and focus group interviews were chosen as a data collection technique. Sixty-two teachers working in CRCs, SERCs, special education schools, and classes participated in the research. A descriptive analysis method, which is used in qualitative research methods, was used in order to analyze the research data. The findings of the research were examined under six themes. It was found that the teachers (including special education teachers) had difficulty in teaching skills and concepts, interfering problem behaviors, providing sexual education with students and parent training, communicating with families in their native language, planning a student’s individual education planning (IEP), assessing students formally and informally, and adapting to technology for the goals of IEP. Furthermore, in an inclusive education system, teachers do not/cannot offer support services to those with diverse languages, religions, cultures, and sexual orientations. On the other hand, this research concluded that teachers who spoke with students and families in their native language were more effective in improving students.

In this article Copeland’s model of visualising the classification of children with learning disabilities is applied in examining the development of special education schools in the Netherlands during the interwar period. Central are three intertwined social practices: the teacher’s professionalism (in pedagogic and practical concerns), the expert’s knowledge (in theory, research and practical advice) and the pillarised social structure that is typical in the Dutch case. Moreover, gender is added as a central category because of its crucial intermediating role in the Dutch developments. In order to understand the interaction between these practices and the denominational structure, the professional identity of male and female teachers in special education classes and schools is studied in relation to the religious stratification within the domain of special education. In the conclusion the gendered professionalism within special education schools is related to the status of expert knowledge and the involvement of an increasing number of women, in particular Catholic nuns, in schools for children with learning disabilities in the Netherlands in between the two world wars.

This study aimed to examine why physical education teachers are reluctant to teach in special education schools from the perspective of physical education students at Birzet University. It also sought to explore possible solutions to this issue. A mixed-methods approach (quantitative and qualitative) was used, with a random sample of 110 physical education students (both male and female) and a purposive sample of five faculty members from the Department of Physical Education. Data were collected through questionnaires and interviews and analyzed using appropriate statistical and qualitative methods. The results showed that the level of reluctance among physical education teachers to teach in special education schools was moderate. Furthermore, statistical analyses revealed no significant differences based on gender, academic year, or completion of the special physical education course. The study recommended enhancing the integration of students with the special education sector both inside and outside the university, and revising the physical education curriculum to include courses more suited to the needs of special education. It also emphasized the need to improve infrastructure and provide the necessary resources to support teaching in this field. Keywords: Teacher Reluctance, Physical Education, Special Education, Curriculum Development.

This study has the main objective of describing a situation concerning the problems of physical education, sports and health in Special Schools which focus on: (1) Analyzing the process of preparing for physical education in SLB (2) Analyzing the process of implementing Physical Education learning activities in SLB and (3) Analyzing the form of physical education learning assessment in SLB. This study uses evaluation research methods. Data were analyzed using the Countenance Stake Model. This model emphasizes two types of operations, namely descriptions and judgments, and distinguishes three phases in the evaluation of Physical Education learning in SLB, namely: (1) preliminary (antecedent) stage, (2) process (transaction) stage, (3) ) stage of results (outcomes). The subjects of this study were school supervisors, school principals, physical education teachers. Data collection techniques in this study using interview techniques. Research data were analyzed using qualitative descriptive analysis techniques. The results of this study indicate: (1) the preliminary stage (antecedent), namely the description of Penjasorkes learning is good, because the learning objectives have been adapted to the conditions of the students, the teacher has qualifications so that they are able to compile semester programs, syllabus and lesson plans, the condition of supporting infrastructure, teacher understanding on learning strategies and having mastery of Penjasorkes learning materials; (2) the process (transaction) stage, namely the description of Physical Education learning is quite good because the implementation of Physical Education learning is in accordance with the curriculum, namely using integrative thematic learning with a scientific approach and carrying out authentic assessments; (3) the outcome stage, namely the measurement of the results of the teacher's assessment which includes aspects of attitude, knowledge.

This paper takes the situation of the training for sports teachers in Chongqing' special education schools as the object. It focuses on three aspects of the content, including the cultivation actuality of special education sports talents and the orientation and in-service training for special education schools' sports teachers .The results are showed as follows: The level of the training integration for special sports teachers is not high; The cultivation of special sports talents, namely the pre-service training, is in the supply and demand contradiction; The orientation for special sports teachers is of overgeneralization; The depth of the in-service training is not enough. Then after consulting literature, visiting experts and discussing with scholars, we summed up the following suggestions: Offer special physical education curriculum in Chongqing' normal universities and sports colleges; Reform orientation system, optimize the evaluation scheme for new teachers; Deepen the level of in-service training, provide opportunities for teachers' off-job learning; In policy and funding support, enhance the level of integration of teachers' vocational training. Index Terms - Chongqing, Special education, PE teacher, Training

This study aimed to investigate attitudes and self-efficacy beliefs of classroom and physical education teachers teaching in public and private primary schools and providing education through games and physical activity lessons. As per the study screening criteria, teachers who were engaged in education and teaching in Istanbul for the academic period 2018–2019 were selected. Game and physical activity lesson attitude scale and teacher self-efficacy belief scale used as data collection tools in the study. In addition, another scale was used to determine the demographic characteristics of the teachers. The research universe, formerly called Game and Physical Activities and now named Physical Education and Game lesson, consists of classroom and physical education teachers in all private and public primary schools of the Ministry of Education in Istanbul. The study sample consisted of private and public primary schools in Bahçelievler, Bakırköy, Bağcılar, Küçükçekmece, and Sultangazi districts in Istanbul. The sample group consisted of 211 teachers, including 106 classroom teachers (50.2% of our sample group) and 105 physical education teachers (49.8% of our sample group) working in these schools. The game and physical activities lesson attitude scale has 19 questions and is a five-point Likert-type scale. The questions cover the cognitive attitude toward the benefits of the lesson, behavioral attitude toward the lesson, and emotional attitude toward the lesson and consist of three different sub-dimensions. The self-efficacy belief scale is a five-point Likert-type scale with 27 questions covering academic self-efficacy, social self-efficacy, intellectual self-efficacy, and vocational self-efficacy and four sub-dimensions. Since the hypothesis about the sub-factors is not specified for either scale, in this study no evaluation was made according to sub-factors. Attitudes toward play and physical activity lessons among physical education teachers with 1–8 years of teaching background, in licensed sportsmen and in school team coaches was found to be high. Self-efficacy beliefs in physical education teachers, private school teachers, and school team coaches was found to be high. There were no differences in the other variables of both scales. Cite this article as: Yılmaz, N., Akgün, G., Öztürk, M. The Investigation of Game and Physical Activities Lesson Attitude and Teacher Self-Efficacy Beliefs of Class Teachers and Physical Education Teachers. Research in Sports Science 2020, 10(1); 7-14.

The Special Education Branch, Singapore Ministry of Education works closely with Special Education (SPED) Schools to develop a variety of professional development opportunities for special education teachers in Singapore. Over the last four years, the Branch had supported the adoption of Lesson Study in SPED schools in partnership with the National Institute of Education. This is in response to the need for more school-based professional development that is contextualised and adapted to the needs of these schools which serve students with a diverse range of disability profiles. The goal is to build a collaborative community of inquiry-based practice that is teacher-led. Lesson Study, as one of the approaches used to achieve this end, serves to develop teachers’ craft of teaching and their inquiry into their practice. The model systematically deepens teachers’ understanding of the nature and purpose of Lesson Study and its principles and processes. Teachers also learn about the dispositions and habits of mind necessary to observe student learning and interpret data to improve lesson design and student learning. In the final phase, a team of teachers in a school is supported in the implementation of a Lesson Study cycle from planning, observation, enactment, and reflection by NIE and other external resource persons. A network among participating schools is developed through sharing sessions, visits to local mainstream schools and participation in the World Association of Lesson Studies (WALS) Lesson Study Immersion Programme. This paper will share the lessons learnt in Lesson Study and the efforts made in advancing it as an approach to the professional development of special education teachers in Singapore.

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are associated with an increased risk of developing severe emotional and behavioral problems; however, little research is published on ACEs for students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) in special education (SE) schools. We therefore systematically explored the prevalence, type and timing of ACEs in these students from five urban SE schools in the Netherlands (Mage = 11.58 years; 85.1% boys) from a multi-informant perspective, using students’ self-reports (n = 169), parent reports (n = 95) and school files (n = 172). Almost all students experienced at least one ACE (96.4% self-reports, 89.5% parent reports, 95.4% school files), and more than half experienced four or more ACEs (74.5% self-reports, 62.7% parent reports, 59.9% school files). A large majority of students experienced maltreatment, which often co-occurred with household challenges and community stressors. Additionally, 45.9% of the students experienced their first ACE before the age of 4. Students with EBD in SE who live in poverty or in single-parent households were more likely to report multiple ACEs. Knowledge of the prevalence of ACEs may help understand the severe problems and poor long-term outcomes of students with EBD in SE.

The current study examined what makes special education teachers remain in the profession. We will examine this, uniquely, separately among teachers in special education schools versus special education classes in general education schools. Participants were 212 special education teachers in special education schools and 257 in special education classes. Teachers completed questionnaires on social support, psychological empowerment, job satisfaction and future occupational plans. Results revealed significant associations between social support, psychological empowerment, job satisfaction and teachers' future plans. In addition, teachers in special education classes experienced lower levels of perceived social support and psychological empowerment compared to those in special education schools. A non‐significant moderation effect was found for the association between social support, psychological empowerment and satisfaction, with the occupational plans of teachers in both contexts. These findings demonstrate the importance of providing support for and strengthening the sense of psychological empowerment of special education teachers, particularly those who teach in special education classes in general education schools.