Inclusive physical education Elizabeth Lockley, OTDS | Doctor of Occupational Therapy Program | Huntington University
Project Mission Statement
The purpose of this project is to provide current physical education teachers with resources on ways to make their classes more inclusive and adaptive for students with various abilities. The goal is create a space where students with various abilities feel welcomed, included, and are able to participate to their full ability with their peers.
Project Vision Statement
Supply physical education teachers in the school setting with creative ways to help make their PE classes more inclusive for students with various abilities.
Project Description
Physical education is a critical part of a child's education. According to the National Association of State Boards of Education, the recommended amount of exercise per day is 60 minutes; however, only 24% of children with disabilities are reaching this standard (Inclusive school physical education and physical activity, 2020). Research conducted by Doulkeridou et al., (2011) showed that while there was a significant percentage of teachers who felt competent in adaptive physical education and teaching students with disabilities, there was still at least 1/3 of the teachers who participated in the study who did not feel prepared or competent in teaching students with disabilities. Similarly, Tailey & Brintnell, (2016) found through a scoping approach that out of the 13 articles they reviewed, 6 of them had reports from teachers not feeling competent or receiving the correct training to work with students with disabilities. The primary objective of this project is to create educational resources that are accessible to current PE teachers to use for when they have a student with a disability in their classroom that requires adaptations to participate.
Needs Assessment
- As stated in the Occupational Therapy Practice Framework: OTPF Organization, “Achieving health, well-being, and participation in life through engagement in occupation” encompasses the basic principles of OT and this project being in an OT’s scope of practice. The definition of health is also interpreted as “a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity,”; reinforcing the need for students with disabilities to participate in a typical PE class to increase socialization and physical activity (American Occupational Therapy Association [AOTA], 2020, p. 5).
- From the 2009-10 to the 2019-20 school years, students aged 3-21 that receive special education services under IDEA increased from 6.5m to 7.3m; a 1% increase in 10 years to 14% of all students enrolled in public schools (National Center for Education Statistics, 2021).
- 15% of all students receiving special education services have varied health impairments that hinder them from participating in a typical physical education class. These health impairments range from limited strength & vitality to heart conditions, cancer, and more severe diseases that affect the child’s quality of life (National Center for Education Statistics, 2021).
Literature Review
- Only 24% of children and adolescents with disabilities are meeting the recommended 60 minutes of physical activity daily, 52% of schools exempted students with a cognitive disability from their physical education (PE) class, and 86% of schools exempted students with long-term physical and medical disabilities from physical education (Inclusive school physical education and physical activity, 2020).
- According to Teachers College at Columbia University, while students are completing their master’s program, they are only required to take a singular course involving working with students with disabilities and special education (Physical education with professional certification, n.d.); however, Terzieva (2019) emphasizes the importance of creating an inclusive program for students with disabilities to be able to participate in their general physical education class and that physical education teachers should begin taking the necessary didactic and programmatic changes to gain the knowledge needed to implement these programs.
- Adaptive physical education professionals (APE) are an up-and-coming profession that works with students with disabilities in schools and provides them with a separate physical education class; however, they are not provided in every school.
Area of Focus
Education | Research | Advocacy | Program & Policy Development
Target Population
Physical Education Teachers | Students
Primary Site
Huntington University
Huntington University supported participation in all educational opportunities constructed and obtained throughout this capstone project.
Secondary Site
DeKalb County Special Olympics
DeKalb County Special Olympics provided the opportunity to work with current athletes with various abilities and various ages. They played an important role in the creation of this project.
Project Outcome Measures, Learning Objectives, & Deliverables
Outcome Measure #1: Student will create an interactive presentation to administer to PE teachers on inclusiveness in PE for students with various abilities
Deliverable #1: Creation of powerpoint presentation
Learning Objective #1: Student will demonstrate increased knowledge in education training as measured by the completion of a CEU
Deliverable #2: Certificate of CEU
Learning Objective #2: Student will acquire 3 different educational resources to obtain information regarding their project for use in presentation
Deliverable #3: Creation of pamphlet for use by PE teachers
Outcome Measure #2: Student will design an inclusive physical education course curriculum with intent of dissemination to community stakeholders
Deliverable #4: Creation of inclusive PE course curriculum
Learning Objective #3: Student will create a minimum of 4 lesson plans from an occupation-based physical activity approach
Deliverable #5: Creation of 4 lesson plans
Learning Objective #4: Student will demonstrate increased knowledge in adaptive physical education by the completion of CEU
Deliverable #6: Certificate of CEU
Learning Objective #5: Create & distribute a survey on comfortability & competency on working with students with various abilities to current PE teachers across the US
Deliverable #7: Creation, distribution, and analyzation of survey results
Inclusive Curriculum
This inclusive curriculum the ways OT can play a vital role in creating an inclusive classroom, adaptive activities, lesson plans, visual cards, grading, state standards for both schools and educators to follow safety instructions general instructions, and links that provide further information. The inclusive curriculum can be used for grades K-5. I linked slides to the Table of Contents so that teachers can jump straight to whatever section they are needing in the moment.
Standards
Content standards were created based on the Indiana State Standards for physical education. Benchmarks for each age were then created using the content standards. The benchmarks are guidelines for PE teachers to use when grading and looking at the skills students should be able to perform; however, should not be the only thing considered when giving grades to students. The students age and developmental leveled should also be considered when grading.
Survey & Survey Questions
The survey consisted of 20 questions and was sent to over 200 current PE teachers. The survey was sent to schools in all 50 states and included an elementary, middle, and high school teacher in most states.
Lesson Plans
Lesson plans were created using the state standards, content standards, and benchmarks. They are grade/age specific and focus on the skills students should be working on with their PE teacher. The lesson plans include
- Topic
- Targeted skills
- Content Standards
- Benchmarks
- Equipment & supplies
- Instructional Adaptations
- Topic/Standard Address
- Activity
Pamphlet
The purpose of the pamphlet was to give PE teachers quick access to adaptive activities. I also provided information links on the curriculum that lead teachers directly to sites with great adaptive activities.
Project Leader
The project leader was responsible for completing all factors related to the current project including research, planning, implementation, management, dissemination, and communication with all key stakeholders.
Project Mentors
References
American Occupational Therapy Association. (2020). Occupational therapy practice framework: Domain and process (4th ed.). American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 74(2), 1-87. https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.2014.682006
Doulkeridou, A., Evaggelinou, C., Mouratidou, K., Koidou, E., & Panagoitou, A. (2011). Attitudes of greek physical education teachers towards inclusion of students with disabilities in physical education classes. International Journal of Special Education. Vol. 26. No1.
Doe. (2022, November 2). Indiana Academic Standards for Physical Education. DOE. Retrieved March 23, 2023, from https://www.in.gov/doe/students/indiana-academic-standards/physical-education-2017/
Doe. (2022, November 2). Physical Education (2017). DOE. Retrieved January 27, 2023, from https://www.in.gov/doe/students/indiana-academic-standards/physical-education-2017/
Inclusive school physical education and physical activity (2020). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/healthyschools/physicalactivity/inclusion_pepa.htm
National Center for Education Statistics. (2021). Students with disabilities. U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences. https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator/cgg.
Physical education with professional certification (n.d.). Teachers College: Columbia University. https://www.tc.columbia.edu/biobehavioral-sciences/physical-education/degrees--requirements/physical-education-ma-professional/
Talley, L., & Brintnell, E. S. (2016). Scoping the barriers to implementing policies for inclusive education in Rwanda: an occupational therapy opportunity. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 20(4), 364–382. https://doi.org /10.1080/13603116.2015.1081634
Terzieva, G. (2019). A Concept for Inclusive Physical Education Training Program for Future Pre-School and Primary-School Teachers. Trakia Journal of Sciences, 17(2), 97–100. https://doi.org/10.15547/tjs.2019.02.001