Research Impact: Including student with disabilities into general education has become a common practice in the United States, and it is progressively becoming an educational model in other countries worldwide. However, teachers around the world have expressed various barriers when having to teach to students with disabilities; including a feeling of limited support, large class sizes, time, student safety, administrative demands, inadequate training and professional development, and a lack of competence. It is the last two that are of particular importance. The training and self-confidence of the instructor have become important components in the success of any inclusive physical education (PE) or recreation program. As such, the purpose of this study was to determine if the self-efficacy toward teaching students with intellectual disabilities (ID), physical disabilities (PD), or visual impairments (VI) in PE would increase in PE pre-service teachers working at a one-week intensive sports camp for youth with visual impairments. Results from this study suggest teaching and learning experiences that are both practical and disability-orientated can be quite effective in increasing PE pre-service teacher’s confidence when working with youth with disabilities.
Foley, J., Santarossa, S., Tindall, D.W., & Lieberman, L.J. (2020). The impact of a summer sports camp for children with visual impairments on the self-efficacy of physical education pre-service teachers: A pilot study. European Journal of Adapted Physical Activity – Online. DOI: 10.5507/euj.2019.011. (SJR: 0.15; SCImago Journal Rank: Q4).
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