This dissertation in practice centers on the problem of practice that students with disabilities are systematically excluded from mainstream health and physical education classes to the detriment of their health and well-being. This dissertation improvement project tests the effects of Partners in PE (PPE) by utilizing a 3-session peer-to-peer…

The aim of this study was to determine the effect of adapted basketball exercises on the development of nonverbal communication skills of autistic children. Among the single-subject research models, multiple-polling inter-polling behavior was used. The population of the study consists of children with mild autism spectrum disorder in the special…

Sport- and physical activity-related participatory action research (PAR) often involves voluntary partnerships spanning institutions, organizations, and jurisdictions. Negotiating and maintaining multi-stakeholder and multi-jurisdictional research partnerships can be likened to a delicate balancing act fraught with potential challenges and strains…

This quasi-experimental study analyses the effects of an awareness intervention programme with five different branches designed to improve the attitudes of physical education (PE) students towards the inclusion of classmates with disabilities. The contact (yes/no) and its frequency (×1 vs. ×3) with para-athletes, the duration of the programme (1…

While assistive technology is often suggested as a way to increase, maintain, or improve functional ability for individuals with disabilities within physical activity (PA) settings, cost and availability of such items are often noted as barriers. In recent years, 3D printing has become available to the general public through the adoption of 3D…

The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of adapted play activities on physical fitness in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). In this study, the pretest-posttest design with a single experimental group was used. The sample of the study is comprised of 7 students with 7-13 years of age. In the measurement of physical…

The purpose of the article is to discuss the universal design for learning (UDL) framework as a curriculum development tool and illustrate how it can be implemented in the physical education setting to include children with disabilities. Although a few scholars in physical education have advocated for the implementation of UDL, their efforts may…

Adapted physical education (APE) is offered as a course in most physical education teacher education (PETE) programs to better prepare preservice teachers (PST) in giving instruction to students with disabilities. As a growing pedagogical approach, service-learning (SL) continues to be integrated into the APE course, as a supplement to PSTs'…

Background: It is well-established that traditional approaches to initial teacher education do not adequately prepare physical education (PE) teachers for teaching pupils with disabilities. Consequently, pupils with disabilities participate less frequently and in fewer PE activities than their age peers. School-based placements, which form a…

Educational "inclusion" has led to a debate about the appropriateness of special and mainstream schools. This paper adds to this debate by drawing on the concept of cultural hegemony to analyse the nature, purpose and value of special school physical education (PE). Eighteen individual interviews explored the perceptions of PE teachers,…

General education physical education (GPE) teachers currently face difficulties in providing for the special needs of students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in inclusion GPE classes. In addition, there is currently no best practice in how to present information on adapted physical education (APE ) strategies to GPE teachers effectively. This…

In an attempt to better prepare prospective PE teachers for teaching pupils with disabilities, our research takes up the call of Sparkes, A., Martos-Garcia, D., & Maher, A. (2019). Me, Imperfect Osteogenesis and my classmates in physical education lessons: A case study of embodied pedagogy in action. "Sport, Education and Society,"…

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of early childhood adapted physical education (APE) and caregiver-implemented homework on the gross motor skill development of 19 young children with Down Syndrome (DS). The results of three groups were compared: (a) APE only, (b) APE plus picture card homework, and (c) APE plus instructional…

Specially designed physical education (PE), also known as adapted PE, is frequently provided by an adapted physical educator. Adapted physical educators are unique, as they need knowledge about both PE and special education curricula (Kwon & Block, 2014). However, students with disabilities are not provided appropriate PE services. The…

People with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) engage in less physical activity (PA) than peers without disabilities which may impact long-term health (Srinivasan et al., 2014). Previous research found people with ASD identified freedom of choice (e.g., choice of PA) as an important factor that influences PA habits (Arnell et al., 2018). The purpose…