Inclusive Sporting Events in Schools for Youth With Disabilities in Quebec

Abstract

Participating in physical activities and sports entails positive impacts for youth with disabilities regarding their physical and social well-being. In Quebec, however, opportunities to practice inclusive sports adapted to their needs are scarce beyond the boundaries of the school environment. Through 33 semi-structured interviews conducted with practitioners involved in organizing such adapted sporting events, this study aims to better understand the needs and expectations linked to these events and, simultaneously, identify the social, experiential, and educational roles of these events on youth with disabilities. Results demonstrate substantial positive impacts on these young people (enjoyment, pride, self-esteem, etc.) and on their relatives. Results also highlight several barriers, notably, material and human, that can hinder their desire to go on with physical activities and sports in their school environment.

The efficiency of integrated and segregated physical education classes for secondary school students with physical and mental disabilities and poor fitness

“…Hence integrated PE classes conducted jointly with children with minor differences in physical and mental development confirmed the predictions of experts who accentuated upon low potential of integrated physical education classes for physical fitness improvement of healthy schoolchildren. This issue does not conflict with the information [2] about ineffectiveness of integrated PE classes for healthy students in terms of their physical fitness improvement since the changes introduced by the author applied not only to PE classes but also to out-of-school activities. To ensure sufficient improvement of physical fitness in the integrated PE classes, healthy schoolchildren should attend extra fitness classes or sports groups practicing certain kinds of sport.…”

“…The concept of integrated education has lofty aims and noble tasks though often counteracted by a whole range of negative tendencies causing an inevitable decrease in education level and developing in healthy students the feeling of being "neglected", the so called "integration fatigue" (anxiety and aggression of some children against their disabled peers), and the like [1][2][3][4]. Major problems occur during physical training lessons (PT), when discrepancy in physical capabilities of schoolchildren manifests itself to its utmost.…”

Listening to Stakeholders’ Voices on Funding Social Inclusion in Sport for People with Disabilities—Proposal for Criteria

“…They express the necessity for additional funding to broaden their access to a broader variety of sport, acquire more equipment and resources, expand their training network, participate in international events across various categories, and alleviate the burden of fundraising to focus more on their training. Previous research [ 23 , 24 ] has already highlighted the lack of critical mass for sport competitions, limited sport options, and inadequately adapted competitions as barriers to sport participation for people with disabilities. Moreover, the unsuitable environments to accommodate their needs have been identified as another challenge [ 25 , 26 ].…”

Why Do We Run in a Sporting Event? A Gender Perspective through the Half-Marathon of Cordoba, Spain

“…However, increasingly, non-charitable events offer participation categories that allow for the inclusion of participants with diverse characteristics compared to the average participant (González-García et al 2022). This inclusivity extends to various domains: individuals with disabilities, underrepresentation of participants from a gender perspective, promotion of participation across all age groups, and inclusion of different ethnic, religious, or refugee groups (Benn and Dagkas 2013;Roult et al 2015;Doidge et al 2020;O'brien et al 2022;Deckman and McDonald 2023;Hiemstra and Rana 2024). However, no studies address a specific motivational dimension related to the inclusive nature of a non-charitable event.…”