The Inclusion of Children with Physical Disabilities in Mainstream PE: Rhetoric or Reality?

Education still faces the challenge of ensuring inclusive learning and much has been discussed and written, both in the United Kingdom and abroad, about entitlement and the implementation of appropriate policies. However, little research has focused upon the reality of day-to-day experiences for pupils and staff. Rooted in Ajzen’s (1991) theory of planned behaviour this research explores the attitudes of PE teachers and their intention to behave in an inclusive fashion and suggests that the experience is both positive and directed towards progression and learning. Unfortunately, in reality, social inclusion and successful physical activity remains an essentially flawed feature of inclusive learning for disabled pupils. Action research reveals the potential for change that exists in individual teachers’ practice, while also confirming the difficulty PE teachers have in challenging the status quo. Exposed are the inadequacies of teacher education and the exclusionary nature of traditional PE settings and it is apparent that the experiences of pupils are more reliant upon the quality of individual teachers and learning support assistants than any school or government policy. (Publisher's summary)