The gap and the bridge: Brazilian Physical Education pre‐service training for inclusion

Abstract

Currently, the inclusion of disabled students in school still faces significant obstacles to its implementation. In Physical Education (PE) classes, these obstacles are mainly associated with failures in the pre‐service training offered in undergraduate courses. This study aimed to investigate pre‐service training on the inclusion of disabled students from the perspective of PE teachers. Four teachers, aged 27 to 32, participated in the study. The PE teachers took part in interviews, guided by open questions, which were later transcribed and analyzed using the technique of content analysis. The results section discusses the role of pre‐service training concerning the inclusion of disabled students in PE classes, and identifies the gaps in this training. The PE teachers indicated the need for a change in perspective with regard to inclusion in PE classes.

Why modify? Visually impaired students’ views on activity modifications in physical education

“…This understanding of inclusion may reduce teachers' likelihood to engage in meaningful dialogue with disabled students about their experiences, given that they would assume that students would "be included" because they exist within an integrated space, and transfer their responsibility to improve modifications to the student or other stakeholders (Haegele et al, 2021). With this in mind, before teachers are in schools and teaching disabled students, we reiterate recommendations by Alves et al (2022) and Haegele et al (2021), who suggest that pre-service training begin to expand beyond medical discourses concerning disability, and help to introduce inclusion as a subjective experience, characterized by feelings of acceptance, belonging, and feeling valued from the perspectives of those being included.…”

“…For active and reciprocal communication to work, it is clear that the first step must be for teachers to value speaking with their students about their needs, and to understand feelings of acceptance, value, and belonging as being key and important features in integrated PE classes. This may not be the case, though, as educators tend not to understand inclusion beyond simple and superficial space-related definitions, and are therefore generally unaware of the value of taking their students’ opinions into consideration (Alves et al, 2022). This understanding of inclusion may reduce teachers’ likelihood to engage in meaningful dialogue with disabled students about their experiences, given that they would assume that students would “be included” because they exist within an integrated space, and transfer their responsibility to improve modifications to the student or other stakeholders (Haegele et al, 2021).…”