Teaching programs for, and teacher's attitudes toward inclusion of disabled children into regular physicall education

Abstract

This paper reviews some of the previous research on the attitude of PE teacher's toward inclusion of disabled children into regular PE classes. When inclusion classes are planned without the necessary consideration and support for disabled children, they tend to become a negative experience for both children with and without disabilities. However, many studies have revealed that disabled children can be included in regular PE classes without a negative influence on non-disabled children if proper support is provided in the form of equipment, volunteers, and PE specialists. Although most PE teachers have been reluctant to implement the inclusion policy, their attitude becomes favorable once they have experienced it. Attitude varies according to the type of disability. It is necessary for teachers to have interest, knowledge and skills to plan and implement appropriate strategies in classes. However, very little is known about teacher training systems for inclusion classwork. More research needs to be conducted to develop successful inclusion classes. A tentative system for teacher training in inclusion classes is proposed.