Attitudes and Attributes of Physical Educators Associated with Teaching Individuals with Severe and Profound Disabilities

1995 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 80-87 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin E. Block ◽  
Terry L. Rizzo
Keyword(s):  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
Severe Disabilities ◽  
Adapted Physical Education ◽  
Physical Educators ◽  
Attitudes Toward Teaching ◽  
Profound Disabilities ◽  
Students With Severe Disabilities ◽  
Education Coursework ◽  
Regular Classes

The purpose of this study was to assess the relationship between attitudes and selected attributes (teaching assignment, teaching level, adapted physical education coursework, special education coursework, years teaching students with disabilities, quality of teaching experience, and perceived competence in teaching students with disabilities) of public school (K-12) physical educators toward teaching students with severe and profound disabilities in regular classes. Teacher (N = 150) from suburban school districts in a midwestern state were sent the Physical Educators' Attitude Toward Teaching Individuals with Disabilities-III (PEATID-III) and 91 (61%) responded. Data showed that physical educators were undecided about teaching students with severe disabilities and disagreed with the proposal of teaching students with profound disabilities in their regular classes. There was a significant difference between attitudes toward teaching students with severe and profound disabilities. Although only a moderate amount of the variance was accounted by attributes, results from a forward stepwise multiple regression procedure showed that as the quality of teaching experiences improved and adapted physical education coursework increased, attitudes toward teaching students with severe disabilities were more favorable. Favorable attitudes toward teaching students with profound disabilities were associated with an increase of both coursework in special education and perceived teacher competence.

Aquatic Instructors’ Attitudes Toward Teaching Students with Disabilities

2000 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 197-207 ◽  
Author(s):  
Phillip Conatser ◽  
Martin Block ◽  
Monica Lepore
Keyword(s):  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
Severe Disabilities ◽  
Study Data ◽  
Stepwise Multiple Regression ◽  
Physical Educators ◽  
Stepwise Multiple Regression Analysis ◽  
Mild Disabilities ◽  
Attitudes Toward Teaching ◽  
Students With Severe Disabilities ◽  
The U.S

The purpose was to examine attitudes of aquatic instructors (female, n = 59; male, n = 23) toward teaching swimming to students with mild to severe disabilities in an inclusive setting. Aquatic instructors from 28 states representing 75 cities across the U.S. participated in this study. Data were collected by mail with a modified version of Rizzo’s (1984) “Attitudes of Physical Educators Toward Teaching Handicapped Pupils” (renamed “Physical Educators’ Attitudes Toward Teaching Individuals with Disabilities - Swim”). A correlated t test showed that aquatic instructors were significantly more favorable toward teaching aquatics to students with mild disabilities than students with severe disabilities. Stepwise multiple regression analysis indicated that conducting an inclusive aquatic program was the best predictor of favorable attitudes toward including students with mild disabilities, while having more certifications in aquatics was the best predictor of favorable attitudes toward including students with severe disabilities in regular aquatic programs.

Beliefs of Chinese Physical Educators on Teaching Students With Disabilities in General Physical Education Classes

2015 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 137-155 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lijuan Wang ◽  
Jing Qi ◽  
Lin Wang
Keyword(s):  
Physical Education ◽  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
Eastern China ◽  
Physical Educators ◽  
Behavioral Beliefs ◽  
Teacher Assistants ◽  
Attitudes Toward Teaching ◽  
General Physical ◽  
General Physical Education

This study examined the behavioral beliefs of physical education (PE) teachers about teaching students with disabilities in their general PE (GPE) classes and to identify the factors that contribute to their beliefs. A total of 195 PE teachers from a region in eastern China were surveyed. Results of the Physical Educators’ Attitudes Toward Teaching Individuals With Disabilities-III survey indicate that although some teachers felt that including students with disabilities in GPE classes provides benefit for them, they were concerned about the practical difficulties of teaching students with disabilities in GPE classes, the lack of support, and the possible rejection of students with disabilities by their peers. Moreover, the behavioral beliefs of teachers vary according to the disability conditions of the students. Results show that there is no significant effect of demographic factors on the beliefs of PE teachers. Quality of experience predicts positive beliefs. The study has important implication for teacher training, provision of equipment, and support from teacher assistants.

PREPARING FUTURE PHYSICAL EDUCATORS FOR INCLUSION: CHANGING THE PHYSICAL EDUCATION TEACHER TRAINING PROGRAM

2016 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin E. BLOCK ◽  
Eun Hye KWON ◽  
Sean HEALY
Keyword(s):  
Physical Education ◽  
Online Education ◽  
General Education ◽  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
Adapted Physical Education ◽  
Physical Educators ◽  
Physical Education Teacher ◽  
Education Teacher ◽  
Physical Education Teacher Education ◽  
General Physical

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.

Peer-Interaction Strategies: Fostering Positive Experiences for Students With Severe Disabilities in Inclusive Music Classes

2019 ◽  
Vol 37 (3) ◽  
pp. 28-35 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ellary A. Draper ◽  
Laura S. Brown ◽  
Judith A. Jellison
Keyword(s):  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
Peer Interaction ◽  
Task Complexity ◽  
Severe Disabilities ◽  
Positive Interactions ◽  
Typically Developing ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Regular Classrooms ◽  
Working Together ◽  
Students With Severe Disabilities

Too often, students with disabilities in regular classrooms have limited access to the regular curriculum, and for students with severe disabilities, interactions are often with paraprofessionals, not typical classmates. The present study is grounded in action research methods in that an elementary teacher and the authors worked together for the purpose of designing, implementing, and evaluating interaction guidelines between her students with severe disabilities and their typically developing classmates. Overall, instruction and implementation of peer-interaction activities for working together and helping each other were efficient and resulted in high rates of positive interactions. Although the students with disabilities needed different kinds of support, they were capable of participating in a wide-range of music activities and interacting with their typical classmates. Differences in frequencies and quality of interactions are attributed primarily to task complexity, individual needs, and partner assignments.

LRE and the Placement of Students with Severe Disabilities

1992 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 145-153 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathryn Haring ◽  
Felicia Farron-Davis ◽  
Lori Goetz ◽  
Patricia Karasoff ◽  
Wayne Sailor ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
Severe Disabilities ◽  
Small Sample ◽  
Educational Placement ◽  
National Monitoring ◽  
Severely Handicapped ◽  
Degree Of Disability ◽  
Survey Validity ◽  
Students With Severe Disabilities ◽  
Integrated Or

This study addresses the issue of state variability in the placement of students with disabilities in integrated or segregated (students with disabilities only) settings. The study examines actual placement patterns of students with severe disabilities (“severely handicapped”) in a small sample of states in order to more closely identify and analyze factors that might influence national monitoring and reporting of LRE issues. Three states representing different geographical areas and including rural, suburban, and urban population bases participated in a direct survey. The survey asked respondents to identify the number of students with severe disabilities (as defined by the U.S. Department of Education) in the state and the educational placement of these students. A survey validity check was also carried out on a sample of 139 students across the three states. Students were observed and rated using a scale that reports degree of disability (moderate to profound) across nine characteristics; in addition, the placement of these students was recorded. The results of the study suggest that the means by which states collect child count data to report to the federal government under Section 618 of the Education for All Handicapped Children Act are inadequate to meet present informational needs. The collection of data by disability category, for example, rather than by estimates of the extent of disability, may make it difficult to evaluate the effects of present educational reform efforts.

Accomplishing More Together

2016 ◽  
Vol 41 (4) ◽  
pp. 256-272 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth E. Biggs ◽  
Carly B. Gilson ◽  
Erik W. Carter
Keyword(s):  
Special Education Teachers ◽  
Severe Disabilities ◽  
Professional Relationships ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Complex Nature ◽  
District Leaders ◽  
Collaborative Relationships ◽  
Working Together ◽  
Students With Severe Disabilities

Fostering and maintaining strong collaborative relationships are critically important for paraprofessionals and special education teachers working together to provide a high-quality education for students with severe disabilities. Through in-depth interviews with 22 teachers and paraprofessionals comprising nine educational teams, we examined educator perspectives on what influences the quality of their professional relationships, as well as how their perspectives on these influences converged or diverged. Teachers and paraprofessionals identified five themes of influences to the quality of their relationships: teacher influences, paraprofessional influences, shared influences (i.e., related to the collective efforts of teachers and paraprofessionals), administrative influences (i.e., related to school and district leaders), and underlying influences (i.e., related to contextual or other factors). The findings highlight the complex nature of these relationships and emphasize the importance of supporting teachers and paraprofessionals as they work together to meet the needs of students with severe disabilities. We offer recommendations for future research and practice aimed at strengthening the quality and impact of special educator–paraprofessional collaborations.

Promoting Social Connections Across Environments for Students With Severe Disabilities

2017 ◽  
Vol 41 (3) ◽  
pp. 190-195
Author(s):  
John M. Schaefer ◽  
Helen Cannella-Malone ◽  
Matthew E. Brock
Keyword(s):  
High School Students ◽  
Social Relationships ◽  
Social Inclusion ◽  
Severe Disabilities ◽  
Intervention Strategies ◽  
Social Connections ◽  
School Students ◽  
The Social ◽  
Students With Severe Disabilities

Building and maintaining positive social relationships is important to every young adult’s quality of life. However, supporting the social inclusion of middle and high school students with severe disabilities can be extremely challenging. Moreover, promoting social inclusion in one classroom may have little impact on social outcomes in other classrooms, in the hallway, in the lunchroom, or out in the community. This article provides a practical framework for how professionals and peers can partner to support the social inclusion of students with severe disabilities across environments. In addition, easily accessible descriptions of research-based assessment and intervention strategies along with references to other tools and practitioners’ guides are included.

Perceptions About Expert Teaching for Students With Severe Disabilities Among Teachers Identified as Experts

2017 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
pp. 121-135 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea L. Ruppar ◽  
Carly A. Roberts ◽  
Amy J. Olson
Keyword(s):  
Severe Disabilities ◽  
Expert Teachers ◽  
Systematic Instruction ◽  
Education Students ◽  
High Expectations ◽  
Continual Improvement ◽  
Core Skills ◽  
Expert Teaching ◽  
Students With Severe Disabilities

Teaching students with severe disabilities is a complex endeavor, and the skills and qualities of expert teachers for students with severe disabilities are not well understood. A lack of understanding about the unique roles and expertise of teachers of students with severe disabilities can influence the quality of education students with severe disabilities receive and can also affect teacher preparation, development, and evaluation. In this qualitative study, the authors interviewed 11 teachers of students with severe disabilities identified as expert teachers about their perceptions of expertise in relationship to teaching students with severe disabilities. The findings suggest that expert teachers of students with severe disabilities were perceived to demonstrate four core skills and four core qualities that are evident in their actions inside and outside of their classrooms. The four skills identified are (a) advocacy, (b) systematic instruction and academics, (c) individualization and adaptation, and (d) collegial relationships. The four qualities identified are (a) high expectations, (b) positivity, (c) flexibility and creativity, and (d) continual improvement. Implications for research, practice, and teacher evaluation are discussed.

Using Badges to Increase Initiations of Children with Severe Disabilities in a Play Setting

1993 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 46-51 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ann C. Jolly ◽  
St. Marks Center ◽  
David W. Test ◽  
Fred Spooner
Keyword(s):  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
Role Playing ◽  
Severe Disabilities ◽  
Free Play ◽  
Multiple Baseline ◽  
Play Skills ◽  
Training Strategy ◽  
Age Appropriate ◽  
Students With Severe Disabilities ◽  
Teacher Assistant

A study was conducted to investigate a training strategy that allowed children with severe disabilities to choose and initiate activities when playing with chronologically age-appropriate peers without disabilities. Prior to intervention, each student with severe disabilities was taught to use badges with photographs to indicate play activities. Pretraining involved role-playing with the teacher, teacher assistant, and a fourth grader without disabilities and not otherwise involved in the study. The intervention involved having students with disabilities take their badges into a free-play situation. A multiple-baseline, across-subjects design indicated a functional relationship between intervention and student use of play organizers, initiations, and shares. Results are discussed in terms of including students with severe disabilities in the training process when teaching social and play skills.

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