Thinking Ethically About Professional Practice in Adapted Physical Activity

Abstract

There has been little critical exploration of the ethical issues that arise in professional practice common to adapted physical activity. We cannot avoid moral issues as we inevitably will act in ways that will negatively affect the well-being of others. We will make choices, which in our efforts to support others, may hurt by violating dignity or infringing on rights. The aim of this paper is to open a dialogue on what constitutes ethical practice in adapted physical activity. Ethical theories including principlism, virtue ethics, ethics of care, and relational ethics provide a platform for addressing questions of right and good and wrong and bad in the field of adapted physical activity. Unpacking of stories of professional practice (including sacred, secret, and cover stories) against the lived experiences of persons experiencing disability will create a knowledge landscape in adapted physical activity that is sensitive to ethical reflection.

Say What You Mean: Rethinking Disability Language in Adapted Physical Activity Quarterly

“…Likewise, the phrase person who experiences disability is designed to acknowl edge the wide variety of embodied sensations, social structures, cultural understand ings, and identities that may be related to someone's disability experience (e.g., Goodwin & Rossow-Kimball, 2012;Peers, 2012). It is a theoretically porous term in that it can be used to discuss bodily capacities and sensations as well political causes of disablement.…”

“…The recognition of multiple disability understandings and terminologies outside of the policy, for example, is evidenced by authors who explicitly articulate their rationale for their chosen disability terminology, even when it fits within APAQ's current language policy (e.g., Grenier, Wright, Collins, & Kearns, in press). These limitations are also evidenced by a handful of published APAQ articles that include language that lies outside of the official policy, including, for example: "persons experiencing disability" (Goodwin & Rossow-Kimball, 2012); "living with a disability" (Bredahl, 2013); "adults with mobility impairments" (Morphy & Goodwin, 2012); "wheelchair dependent participants" (Goosey-Tolfrey & Crosland, 2010); "classifi able athletes" (Spencer-Cavaliere & Peers, 2011); and "deaf children" (Hartman, Houwen, & Visscher, 2011). It is worth noting that not all of these deviations from APAQ's language policy are ones that we believe should be supported.…”

Inclusão de Alunos com Deficiência nas Aulas de Educação Física: Atitudes de Professores nas Escolas Regulares1

“…Haegele, Hodge, Gutierres Filho, & Rezende (2018), when analyzing 90 Brazilian Physical Education teachers, verified that the participants' attitudes were considerably impacted by the experiences during the lessons. Goodwin and Rossow-Kimball (2012) point out that successful experiences of Physical Education teachers with students with disabilities can positively reinforce self-efficacy, that is, how teachers perceive their competence to adequately deal with the various situations during class.…”

Framing Cross-Cultural Ethical Practice in Adapt[ive] Physical Activity

“…In the bottom-up approach, APA practice is informed by empirical knowledge of the participants' perspective on aspects of psycho-social and cultural interactions prevalent in professional practice (e.g., use of 'help' [Goodwin, 2001], 'peer learning' [Standal & Jespersen, 2008] or 'disability simulations' [Leo & Goodwin, 2013). Analysis of evidence gathered from the bottom-up perspective, may illuminate the ethic being applied to APA professional practice (Goodwin & Rossow-Kimball, 2012). Yet to be addressed bottom-up (lived experience) questions of importance to understanding the moral integrity of APA practice include: (a) Are we, and how do we, diminish dignity or resistance to the remove of obstacles to active lifestyles (Malloy & Zakus, 1995)…”