Perceptions and Practices of Adapted Physical Educators on the Teaching of Social Skills

2009 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 172-186 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amaury Samalot-Rivera ◽  
David L. Porretta

The purpose of this study was to determine adapted physical educators’ perceptions and practices about teaching social skills to students with disabilities. A questionnaire based on Bandura’s social learning theory concept of modeling was developed and mailed to an entire frame of 426 adapted physical education teachers in the state of Ohio. Face and content validity as well as test/retest reliability (0.89) were established. Of those that were surveyed, 53% (225 teachers; 148 females and 77 males) responded. Results indicate that 93% (209) believe it is important to explicitly teach social skills in PE; however, 60% (135) expressed not feeling properly prepared to teach them. Teachers with more than 20 years of teaching experience were more likely to actually teach social skills. When compared with other teachers with less years teaching, however, they identified a greater need for training in the teaching of social skills. Results are discussed relative to teacher preparation and practices as well as social skills taught for general education and community integration.

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (20) ◽  
pp. 5824 ◽  
Author(s):  
Reina ◽  
Santana ◽  
Montesdeoca ◽  
Roldan

Physical education teachers play a significant role in educating students with special education needs, but they often feel frustrated and unprepared to achieve a successful inclusion process. The lack of inadequate training has proven to have an unfavorable effect on educators’ perceived competence, confidence, and attitudes when working in inclusive settings with children with disabilities. This study evaluates the effect of a training program implemented with in-service physical educators from two different regions in Spain, insular and peninsular, in order to improve their self-efficacy in including students with disabilities in physical education. A pre- vs. post-test intervention was conducted with two groups of 142 in-service physical educators with similar age and teaching experience. The intervention improved their perceived self-efficacy in including students with physical, visual, and intellectual disabilities in physical education (p < 0.01, effect sizes = large). The physical educators teaching in the insular region improved their self-efficacy to a higher extent. This study demonstrates the invariant effect of the training program in both regions, but the self-efficacy scores of the physical educators might be constrained by the contents regarding inclusion in their pre-service training, the education policies of the region where the teaching takes place or the geographical characteristics of their workplace.


Author(s):  
Martin E. BLOCK ◽  
Eun Hye KWON ◽  
Sean HEALY

Students with disabilities around the world are leaving special schools and special classes and are receiving their education in general education schools. In addition to attending general education classes, these students with disabilities are attending general physical education classes. Unfortunately, research has clearly demonstrated that physical educators do not feel prepared to include students with disabilities into their general physical education classes. Such findings are not surprising given that the typical physical education teacher education program in the United States only requires one course in adapted physical education, and in many countries around the world not even one adapted physical education course is required. However, many physical education teacher education programs do not have the space to add more adapted physical education classes, and other universities do not have professors with specialized knowledge to teach adapted physical education. What can be done to better prepare future and current physical educators? Online education is a relatively new method for delivering information about disability in general and more specifically how to include students with disabilities into general physical activities. The purpose of this paper is to introduce online education and present preliminary research that supports the use of online training with physical educators.


2015 ◽  
Vol 117 (7) ◽  
pp. 1-40
Author(s):  
Michael A. Gottfried ◽  
Morgan S. Polikoff

Background/Context Though the development of social skills in kindergarten is critical, a research gap exists in how the context of the general education classroom may influence the social skills outcomes of students with disabilities: None have considered the role of peer effects in this domain. This gap is critical to address, as multiple high-needs groups are increasingly present in the same general education classroom settings. Purpose/Objective This study asks two key research questions: (1) In kindergarten, to what extent do the classroom social skills outcomes of children with disabilities differ based on the number of ELL classmates? (2) In kindergarten, to what extent do the classroom social skills outcomes of ELL students differ based on the number of classmates with disabilities? Population/Participants The data are sourced from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten Class (ECLS-K), which is a nationally representative sample of students, teachers, and schools. Information was first collected from kindergartners (as well as parents, teachers, and school administrators) from U.S. kindergarten programs. This study utilizes data collected at the fall and spring of kindergarten. Research Design This study combines secondary data analyses and quasi-experimental methods. There are three social skills outcomes: (1) approaches to learning, (2) interpersonal skills, and (3) self control. The study begins with a baseline, linear regression model. To address issues pertaining to omitted variable bias, the study employs multilevel fixed effects modeling. Findings The coefficients indicate that students with disabilities tend to have improved social skills with an increase in the number of ELL classmates. The effects remain significant even after accounting for multiple omitted variable biases. Notably, the reverse relationship does not hold: The number of classmates with disabilities has no significant influence on the outcomes of ELL students. Conclusions/Recommendations This research offers more in-depth insight into how the classroom context and the effects of classmates may have a unique relationship for specific high-needs groups such as students with disabilities—a strand of research in this area that is often overlooked. School practices can thus be guided by determining not simply if one group of students performs better or worse on average, but rather by asking, better or worse for whom in particular?


2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 795-806 ◽  
Author(s):  
Koon Teck Koh ◽  
Martin Camiré ◽  
Gordon A Bloom ◽  
CKJ Wang

The purpose of the study was to create, implement, and evaluate a values-based training program for sport coaches and physical education teachers in Singapore. Four sport coaches with two to eight years of coaching experience ( M = 5.0, SD = 1.4) and four physical education teachers with two to nine years of teaching experience ( M = 5.25, SD = 3.3) took part in three 2-h training workshops focusing on the teaching of values to athletes and students. Following the workshops, the participants took part in an individual interview to document their perspectives of the values-based training program. Results of the thematic analysis revealed many benefits of the values-based training program, including an increased awareness of the importance of systematically teaching values through physical education and sport. Further, the participants felt better equipped to work with parents and other teachers in helping athletes and students transfer values.


2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 478-483
Author(s):  
Pattaraporn Jamsai

Purpose of Study: The purpose of this study was to examine Thai secondary teacher attitudes towards inclusion of students with learning disabilities in general education classrooms. Methodology: The researcher collected quantitative data using a questionnaire with 28 Likert-type scale questions, adapted from the Opinions Relative to Integration of Students with Disabilities (ORI) as well as information related to training in special education, experience, and workload. The participants were comprised of a representative group of 370 secondary teachers from all regions of Thailand. Most participants indicated that they were female general education teachers and had a Bachelor’s degree. Main Finding: Through multiple linear regression, the findings showed that Thai secondary teachers generally held a positive attitude towards the inclusion of students with learning disabilities into general education classrooms. All three independent variables (hours of training, years of teaching experience, and hours of workload) were significant predictors of teachers’ attitudes towards inclusive classrooms, though the hours of workload was the strongest predictor. Applications: The study was conducted to better understand the variables that are meaningful to teachers’ attitudes toward inclusion.


2009 ◽  
Vol 37 (2) ◽  
pp. 223-230 ◽  
Author(s):  
Okkes Alpaslan Gencay

The main purpose of this study was to determine the validity and reliability of the Physical Education Teachers' Physical Activity Self-efficacy Scale (PETPAS), developed by Martin and Kulinna (2003), in a Turkish setting, and to test if there are any differences according to gender and teaching experience of Turkish PE teachers. The Turkish version of the PETPAS was administered to 227 physical educators from 3 cities in Turkey. Exploratory factor analysis showed that the scale consists of 4 dimensions, as does the original. Cronbach's alpha was .86, and both the Equal-Length Spearman Brown split-half coefficient (r = .72) and Guttman's split-half coefficient (r = .73) showed good results. The independent t test results revealed that there were significant gender differences in space, time, and institution subscales. One way ANOVA results also indicated that student and space subscales significantly differed according to teaching experience of the PE teachers. These results indicated that the PETPAS is a valid and reliable scale for Turkish culture.


2012 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 76-84
Author(s):  
Chunxiao LI ◽  
Shihui CHEN ◽  
Wing See Emily TSOI

LANGUAGE NOTE | Document text in Chinese; abstract also in English. The aim of the survey was to examine the attitudes of general primary PE teachers toward integrated PE and the relationships of gender, teaching experience, and class size. Eighty three teachers participated in the survey. The results indicated a neutral attitude towards integrated PE by teachers. There was a significant difference between male and female teachers in their perception of whether “students with disabilities like my teaching” (p = 0.018), but no significant differences with other attitudes by gender. There was a significant difference between teachers’ teaching experiences and their perceptions of whether “Little support offered to integrated PE” (p = 0.006), however, no significant differences with other items by experience. There was also a relationship between perceived teaching competency and class size (p < 0.001, r = 0.454). The results were mainly discussed in relation to teaching competency, support, teaching experience and class size. 本研究的目的在於探討香港主流小學體育教師融合體育教學態度。83位小學體育教師回應了本次調查。通過分析發現教師對於融合體育教學持較為中立的態度。文章最後主要對融合體育態度與教學效能,支援,教學經驗和班級大小的關係進行了討論。


2021 ◽  
pp. 004005992110462
Author(s):  
Caitlin Olive ◽  
Karen Lux Gaudreault ◽  
Adriana Lucero

Benefits of developing SEL skills can include improved academic success, emotional health, increased patience for problem solving, and enhanced emotional control and regulation (Ciotto & Gagnon, 2018). Physical education (PE) can be used as an avenue to teach SEL skills by connecting the affective domain (Ciotto & Gagnon, 2018) with the five SEL competencies of: (a) self-awareness, (b) social-awareness, (c) self-management, (d) relationship skills, and (e) responsible decision-making. We offer that SEL is important for all students and can support students with special needs, including those not in general education classrooms, when implemented with appropriate modifications. The purpose of this article is to provide adapted physical educators with two strategies for developing and implementing SEL within APE programs: Restorative Justice Circles (Anfara et al., 2013; Suvall, 2009) and TPSR (Hellison, 2003).


2020 ◽  
pp. 000494412093496
Author(s):  
Vaughan Cruickshank ◽  
Brendon Hyndman ◽  
Kira Patterson ◽  
Paul Kebble

Subjects such as Health and Physical Education (HPE) can be marginalised in schools because they are construed as less academically rigorous and less important to the primary mission of education. Teachers of all subjects face challenges, yet, teaching a marginalised subject can result in additional challenges for HPE teachers. Previous research has noted these challenges; however, less is known about how these challenges vary according to student age and teacher experience. This study used quantitative survey methods to ascertain which challenges are the most difficult for Australian HPE teachers, and whether this difficulty varies according to their teaching experience and the ages of their students. Findings indicated that the year level of students taught by HPE teachers was significantly associated with student engagement and isolation within their schools. Years of teaching experience was significantly associated with challenges in teaching students with special needs, with more experienced teachers rating this area as less of a challenge than less experienced teachers.


2001 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 144-154 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Behets

The purpose of this research was to examine and compare physical educators’ value profiles in Flanders, Belgium. The revised Value Orientation Inventory (Ennis & Chen. 1995) was used to collect data from 274 preservice teachers and 637 inservice teachers at the secondary level. Descriptive data on teachers’ value profiles were consistent with data gathered in the United States by Ennis and colleagues. Years of teaching experience and type of teaching degree were related to differences in values, but gender was not. The value profiles of both preservice teachers and inservice teachers reflected the recently introduced curricular innovations and physical education concepts. The teachers in this study placed a high priority on their social responsibility orientation, not supporting the traditional dominance of the disciplinary mastery orientation. The findings suggest that the process of enculturation and social construction (Pajares, 1992) created educational beliefs that are similar to the value orientations observed in other studies.


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