Inclusivity in Education: Exploring Adapted Physical Education

1216 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Importance of inclusion in schools

Education has moved into an era of educators having no excuses for not teaching students no matter what the students’ background or initial capacity is (Mazzeo, 2001). Traditionally, students with special needs who were enrolled in physical education were not allowed to join physical activities. Instead, these students were pulled out from regular classrooms together with other students with special needs and grouped together as if all their needs are all alike. It was also a global practice to exclude from education anyone perceived to be different such as those with disabilities (Tsai & Lena, 2009) as they were judged to be either incapable of benefitting from such an education as or to be potentially disturbing (Engelbrecht et al., 1999). This paved way for the Adapted Physical Education (APE) program. APE is a physical education program that is modified to meet the unique needs (Wright & Wright, 1998) of students with special needs. However, these students with special needs separate from the regular students during their physical education classes. They are clustered and are placed altogether in one class. …show more content…

Since many students with disabilities are not identified, it follows that they are casually integrated in regular classes (Miles, 1985). Integration refers to educating students with disabilities in propinquity to students in regular classrooms (Arbeiter & Hartley, 2002), while inclusion refers to students with disabilities becoming part of the general education classroom, receiving a necessary support, and being taught with effective strategies (Smith, Polloway, Patton, & Dowdy, 2004). Hence, inclusion and integration will be used interchangeably in this

Show More
Related

  • Planning to End Ableism through Universal Design for Learning

    2133 Words  | 5 Pages

    Hehir, T. (2009). New directions in special education: Eliminating ableism in policy and practice. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Education Press.

    Read More

  • Physical Education And National Standards

    1262 Words  | 3 Pages

    Lastly, the textbook states that “A high-quality physical-education program parallels whole-child education. While the main focus is on physical development (psychomotor), it also addresses the knowledge (cognitive) and social (affective) aspects of the child”

    Read More

  • Inclusion in the Public School Classroom

    1541 Words  | 4 Pages

    What do we do with children with disabilities in the public school? Do we include them in the general education class with the “regular” learning population or do we separate them to learn in a special environment more suited to their needs? The problem is many people have argued what is most effective, full inclusion where students with all ranges of disabilities are included in regular education classes for the entire day, or partial inclusion where children spend part of their day in a regular education setting and the rest of the day in a special education or resource class for the opportunity to work in a smaller group setting on specific needs. The need for care for children with identified disabilities both physical and learning continues to grow and the controversy continues.

    Read More

  • SPARK Physical Education Curriculum Program

    612 Words  | 2 Pages

    The SPARK P.E. program is a curriculum for physical education classes that is designed for all students to enjoy P.E. and to improve a child’s overall health and wellness. It is a researched based program out of San Diego State University that strives to improve the health of all people, not just children. The program has been in use for over twenty years and has been tested and improved upon by researchers from SDSU. The program helps children, adolescence, and adults by disseminating evidence based Physical Education to instructors in classrooms and afterschool programs. The program is so effective because it includes program that includes all students and that can be completed by all students in the class. The curriculum has activities designed for all grade levels from Kindergarten through 12th grade.

    Read More

  • Taking Sides: Inclusion

    605 Words  | 2 Pages

    According to Stout (2001) the concept of inclusion can be differentiated into mainstreaming, inclusion and full inclusion each describing the amount of time special education students become part of a normal education classes. “Inclusion is a term which expresses the commitment to educate each child, to the maximum extent possible, in the school and classroom he or she would otherwise attend” (definitions section, para. 2). This commitment is based on the belief that special needs students would profit from the regular classroom environment (Noll, 2014, p. 225). According to Stout (2001) research based evidence supports this belief as “Recent meta-analyses confirm a small to moderate beneficial effect of inclusion education on the academic and social outcome of special needs students” (Research section, para. 3). There are many who also believe that inclusion is good for the overall class as it can teach empathy, and “teaches us to think about we rather than I” (Sapon-Shevin, 2008, p227). There are others however, who feel that “Contrary to some egalitarians, a good society honors those who through intelligent good will, artistic talent, athletic prowess, or plain honest hard work make our lives better” (Carpenter, 2008, p.235) and therefore believe that it is ok to think of “I” and not we.

    Read More

  • Classroom Inclusion, but Is It Really Working?

    782 Words  | 2 Pages

    Teachers generally felt the success of inclusion of the disabled student into the classroom depended largely on the ability of the school to provide specialized services and supports to meet the individual student’s unique needs. Unfortunately this didn’t always materialize; many lacked training and thus felt overwhelmed, “sometimes the rest of the class is put at risk while this child is attended to.” (Nicholson, 2012, p.26) According to Nicholson ccurriculum adaptations to meet the needs of the disabled students as well as the general student population; was acknowledged but time allocation and modifications some found extremely challenging. (Nicholson, 2012, p.26) Teachers commonly supported the idea of inclusion, but whether the schools were prepared and supports and resources were in place was of primary concern. Encouragingly, overall teachers identified many benefits of inclusion in the classroom. “He allows me to expand my knowledge and understanding of his issues, concerns, behavior, and needs which I can apply to my whole class to allow for flexibility and range of activity levels.” (Nicholson, 2012, p.26) Teachers felt students gained valuable life experiences learning to ac...

    Read More

  • Teaching Fitness Education

    1762 Words  | 4 Pages

    American Alliance for Health. Physical Education for Life Long Fitness. 2nd ed. N.p.: National Association for Sport and Physical Education, n.d. Print.

    Read More

  • Adapted Physical Education

    798 Words  | 2 Pages

    - The basic information provided by this professional organization on training, certifications, credentials, and employment opportunities is through the Adapted Physical Education National Standards (APENS) website. The APENS website indicates that the certification that is needed is the Certified Adapted Physical Educator certification. Training can be obtained through experience in instructing kids with disabilities by the means of volunteering. Before obtaining a certification the criteria is to first obtain a credential in PE or APEAA, and a bachelors in any related field of physical activity. This organization also indicates that the Adapted Physical Education National Standard exam is also required to become an adapted physical education teacher. According to SHAPE America, there is a bright outlook for employment opportunities.

    Read More

  • Pros and Cons of Inclusion

    1351 Words  | 3 Pages

    Inclusion 'mainstreams' physically, mentally, and multiply disabled children into regular classrooms. In the fifties and sixties, disabled children were not allowed in regular classrooms. In 1975 Congress passed the Education of all Handicapped Students Act, now called the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). IDEA mandates that all children, regardless of disability, had the right to free, appropriate education in the least restrictive environment. Different states have different variations of the law. Some allow special needs students to be in a regular education classroom all day and for every subject, and others allow special education students to be in a regular education classroom for some subjects and in a separate classroom for the rest. There are many different views on inclusive education. In this paper I will address some of the positive and negative views on inclusion and ways to prepare educators for inclusive education.

    Read More

  • Inclusion And Philosophy Of Early Childhood Special Education

    717 Words  | 2 Pages

    The true purpose of school is to prepare children for their future in becoming lifelong learners and global citizens. For children with special needs, special education services prepare and provide support for them in dealing with the challenges they face daily. Laws such as Individuals with Disabilities Education Act has enforced schools to provide education to all children and reinforces the purpose of the school, which is to provide children the Least Restrictive Environment to help them develop to their optimal potential. There are myriad of concerns regarding inclusion’s effect on typical developing students, yet a research done by Bui, Quirk, Almazan, and Valenti shows that “[p]resence of students with disabilities results in greater number of typical students making reading and math progress compared to non-inclusive general education classes” (p. 3). Therefore, inclusion not only benefits children with disabilities, but it also benefits typical developing student’s academic skills and allows them to learn acceptance and respect for students with disabilities.

    Read More

  • Inclusion in the Classroom

    1625 Words  | 4 Pages

    Inclusion in classrooms is defined as combining students with disabilities and students without disabilities together in an educational environment. It provides all students with a better sense of belonging. They will enable friendships and evolve feelings of being a member of a diverse community (Bronson, 1999). Inclusion benefits students without disabilities by developing a sense of helping others and respecting other diverse people. By this, the students will build up an appreciation that everyone has unique yet wonderful abilities and personalities (Bronson, 1999). This will enhance their communication skills later in life. Inclusive classrooms provide students with disabilities a better education on the same level as their peers. Since all students would be in the same educational environment, they would follow the same curriculum and not separate ones based on their disability. The main element to a successful inclusive classroom, is the teachers effort to plan the curriculum to fit all students needs. Teachers must make sure that they are making the material challenging enough for students without special needs and understandable to students with special needs. Inclusive classrooms are beneficial to students with and without special needs.

    Read More

  • People with Disabilities Need Inclusion

    2230 Words  | 5 Pages

    Inclusion does not only benefit the student, but the parents, teachers, school and the community. It is about understanding additional needs rather than ignoring them and allowing the student every chance that students without difficulties/disabilities have available to them

    Read More

  • Discrimination Against People With Disabilities

    1586 Words  | 4 Pages

    To begin with, full inclusion in the education system for people with disabilities should be the first of many steps that are needed to correct the social injustices that people with disabilities currently face. Students with disabilities are far too frequently isolated and separated in the education system (Johnson). They are often provided a diluted, inferior education and denied meaningful opportunities to learn. There are many education rights for children with disabilities to p...

    Read More

  • The Importance of Physical Education in Schools

    664 Words  | 2 Pages

    Physical education time is being cut in schools to give more time for students to focus on core courses such as Science, Math and Reading. Some districts have eliminated the course or do not even provide it. These courses, although are very important, should not take away from a student’s well-being. Physical education provides a foundation to a student’s future lifestyle and good health habits. Physical education should be treated like every other foundational course because it is a necessary part of a student’s lifestyle that will benefit from every day. Physical education provides: 1) a variation of motor skills aimed to enhance the physical, mental, social and emotional development, 2) an understanding to improve and maintain their physical well-being and 3) opportunities to advance developing social and cooperative skills while gaining a multi-cultural perspective.

    Read More

  • Special Education vs Inclusive Education

    893 Words  | 2 Pages

    Research suggests that the integration and inclusion of students with special educational needs can be beneficial to not only the student, but also to the parents, teachers and peers of the student (Stainback, Stainback & Jackson, 1992). It is also suggested that integration and inclusion is also beneficial to students in areas of learning other than academic, including that of emotional and social development.

    Read More

More about Inclusivity in Education: Exploring Adapted Physical Education

Open Document