Understanding Chilean physical educators’ attitudes toward teaching students with Down syndrome in integrated classes

Abstract

Although research regarding teacher attitudes has been conducted in the area of physical education, less attention has been paid to the perspectives of physical educators in Latin America, particularly as they relate to teaching disabled students. Thus, the purpose of this study was to explore the attitudes of Chilean physical educators toward teaching students with Down syndrome in integrated classes, as well as factors that may influence their attitudes. In this cross-sectional study, 91 physical educators, comprising 50 (54.9%) males and 41 (45.1%) females from various regions in Chile, responded to a 40-item online survey related with impact and attitudes towards inclusion, between March to June 2023. The analysis approach was quantitative, cross-sectional with multivariate regression analysis (path analysis). We concluded that Chilean PE teachers generally espouse highly positive attitudes toward teaching students with Down syndrome, despite about one-third reported that their actual interactions with such students were negative or undecided. This phenomenon may have been contributed to by the lack of preparation of the respondents. We also identified that the environment was a significant predictor variable in teachers’ attitudes towards integrating students with Down syndrome.