Inclusion practices of secondary physical education teachers

The philosophy o f inclusion means different things to different people.The number o f students identified with disabilities receiving services, under Pubhc Law 1 OS-17, Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Amendments o f 1997 and Chapter 1 o f the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, increased by 23% firom the period 1976-1977 to 1989-1990 (U.S.Department o f Education, 1992).To better understand how to best serve students with disabilities there is a growing need for research pertaining to the efficacy o f inclusion.Clearly, a need exists to investigate physical educators' general understanding o f the inclusion paradigm, and more important their behaviors relative to teaching students with varying abilities and disabilities in general physical education (Heikinaro-Johansson & Vogler, 1996; Lavay & DePaepe, 1987).The purpose o f this research was to study two general physical education teachers at the secondary level and determine their views and practices relative to inclusion practice.Moreover, this study sought to describe the class behaviors o f physical education teachers toward students with disabilities in inclusive physical education classes.u Data were collected from 18 lessons using systematic observations, interviews, stimulated recall sessions and journal record.Descriptive statistics and thematic narratives were used to present results.Results indicated that the teachers expressed positive views about including students with disabilities in general physical education classes.However both teachers were o f the perspective view that for some particularly those students with severe disabilities inclusion may not be possible.The teachers felt ill prepared to handle situations that occurred within inclusive physical education classes.On the whole, the most frequent teacher behavior exhibited by the teachers toward students with disabilities was verbal communication.Ill Dedicated to my wife, Nancy; to my children, Davida, Phillippa, and Nathan; to my sisters.Patience and Beatrice;