Research Impact: When schools were closed during COVID-19 restrictions, many students had difficulties in staying physically active. The environments changed, types of social interactions moved online and there were PE teachers who had to provide teaching remotely. This has affected children with special educational needs, as home schooling with working parents have been challenging for both the children and parents. There are many challenges when adding in physical education into the daily routines into the lives of children with special educational needs, and many physical education teachers lack the appropriate training to deliver physical education and adapted physical education remotely. This study used data from teachers from around Europe to provide insights into the technological pedagogical and content knowledge and that would then be used to gain insights to the revisions for the physical education aspect of the European Standards of Adapted Physical Activity (EUSAPA).
Teachers used on average at least three technological tools when communicating with their students and at least four for communication with their colleagues.. Data were collected on the level of experience in adapted physical education and there generally gaps in technological content knowledge. Self-efficacy in teaching children with disabilities in schools were also not different across experience levels, nor was parent and teacher interaction. This highlighted the need for teacher trainers and raising standards for teachers to be aware and use technological content knowledge. Particular areas in EUSAPA identified were
- Identify perceptions of students with SEN in physical education
- Adapting ways to facilitate participation
- Assess appropriateness of support strategies
- Collaboration with non-governmental organisations
- Identify professional development in APE
- Self-evaluate, of which, the experts felt should change to ‘self-reflection’
Experts in adapted physical activity were involved in the process for the revisions to the EUSAPA and can be found from the EUFAPA.eu website https://eufapa.eu/eupapa/eusapa/
Ng, K., Klavina, A., Ferreira, J.P., Barrett, U., Pozeriene, J. and Reina, R., 2021. Teachers’ preparedness to deliver remote adapted physical education from different european perspectives: updates to the european standards in adapted physical activity. European Journal of Special Needs Education, pp.1-16. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/08856257.2021.1872848
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