Martin E. Block

Inclusion in Regular Physical Education: The Research Base

Abstract The research base on including students with disabilities in regular education settings is beginning to help us understand if inclusion works and under what circumstances it works best.

Effects of Collaborative Peer Tutoring on Urban Seventh Graders.

Abstract The effects of a collaborative peer tutor teaching program on the self-concept and school-based attitudes of seventh-grade students at a large urban junior high school were explored. Many of the students in the sample had been previously identified to be at risk by traditional school identification strategies. The study consisted of the 282 subjects enrolled in the seventh grade at F.C. Hammond Junior High School in Alexandria, Virginia. The Piers-Harris Self-Concept Scale was used to measure self-concept in subjects. The Demos D (Dropout) Scale was used to measure student tendency to drop out of school. Data were collected at two points during the 16-week period (immediately before program onset and immediately after program completion. A post hoc analysis revealed that students in the collaborative peer tutor teaching program demonstrated significant improvement in dropout scores compared with students in both the traditional class using group learning activities and the traditional class using...

Including Students with Severe, Multiple Disabilities in General Physical Education.

T he least restrictive environment (LRE) doctrine in the Individual with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) mandates that students with disabilities be educated together with students without disabilities. Placing students with disabilities into a separate adapted physical education program should occur only when the students are clearly not successful in general physical education (GPE) or when they pose a clear safety risk to others or to themselves (Wright & Wright, 2005). This LRE doctrine has been interpreted to suggest that most students with disabilities should start out in GPE with supplemental aids and supports as needed to ensure success. If the student is not successful even with these supports, then the student can be placed in an alternative setting (Block, 1996, 2007). Unfortunately, in practice, students with more severe disabilities never have the opportunity to try GPE. These students are directly placed in an alternative setting because the student’s IEP team (including the GPE teacher) believes that the student will not be safe or successful in GPE, will not benefi t from GPE activities, or may require so many accommodations that his or her participation will detract from the experience of peers without disabilities. While these are all valid concerns, many students with severe disabilities can safely, successfully, and meaningfully participate in GPE programs at all age levels with careful planning and proper support (Block, Zeman, & Henning, 1997; Obrusnikova, Block, & Valkova, 2003; Vogler, Koranda, & Romance, 2000). The purpose of this article is to detail specifi c strategies that allow a student with severe, multiple disabilities (SMD) to be included in GPE. These strategies revolve around three major themes: (1) identifying and selecting appropriate goals and objectives for the student with disabilities and then fi nding ways to help the student achieve these goals and objectives while in GPE, (2) making the GPE setting safe for the student with SMD, and (3) facilitating social interaction between students with and without SMD. Specifi c examples of simple modifi cations that allow the student with SMD to be safely and meaningfully involved in GPE will be presented throughout. With careful planning and support, you can successfully include students with severe, multiple disabilities in general physical education.

The Impact of Paralympic School Day on Student Attitudes Toward Inclusion in Physical Education

The purpose of this study was to determine if Paralympic School Day (PSD), a published disability awareness program, would have a positive impact on the attitudes of students without disabilities toward the inclusion of students with disabilities in physical education classes. Participants were 143 sixth-grade students who were divided into 2 groups (experimental n = 71, control n = 72), with the experimental group receiving the PSD treatment. Participants responded 2 times to Sipersteins Adjective Checklist and Blocks Childrens Attitudes Toward Integrated Physical Education-Revised (CAIPE-R) questionnaire. Four ANCOVA tests were conducted. Results indicated a significant PSD treatment effect across all 4 measures: Adjective Checklist (p = .046, η² = .03), CAIPE-R (p = .002, η² = .04), inclusion subscale (p = .001, η² = .05), and sport-modification subscale (p = .027, η² = .02).

Self-Advocacy in Physical Education for Students with Physical Disabilities

Abstract Self-advocacy for students with disabilities is more than a good idea, it is embodied in the law. Heres how to make it work.

Teaching the Self-Contained Adapted Physical Education Class

JOPERD • Volume 82 No. 4 • April 2011 M any students with moderate to severe physical or intellectual disabilities are placed in self-contained classes for their school day. These self-contained classes are known as functional skills class, communitybased instruction, or simply the class for students with moderate to severe disabilities (Beirne-Smith, Patton, & Kim, 2006). In many cases these students are not included in general physical education programs, and they receive their adapted physical education (APE) only with peers from their self-contained class. In other words, the self-contained class comes to the gym as a group to receive APE. These self-contained APE classes are taught by the school district’s APE specialist, the school’s general physical education (GPE) teacher, or the self-contained special education classroom teacher. Many school districts do not employ adapted physical educators, and as a result the GPE teacher is usually the person who conducts the self-contained APE class. Unfortunately, research has shown that most GPE teachers receive very little preservice training and hands-on experience in APE in general and specifically in conducting a self-contained APE class (Chandler & Greene, 1995; Hardin, 2005; Hodge & Jansma, 2000). As a result, GPE teachers may not feel adequately prepared to organize and conduct a self-contained APE class in their school (Rust & Sinelnikov, 2010). The purpose of this article is to provide information to GPE teachers on how to conduct a self-contained APE class. The article begins with an example of a traditional model for a self-contained APE class, where all students work on the same goals using basically the same equipment and activities. This is then contrasted with an alternative model that corresponds to the individualized education program (IEP), in which students work on individually prescribed goals and objectives.

Adapting the Sport Education Model for Children with Disabilities

JOPERD • Volume 82 No. 3 • March 2011 T he sport education model (SEM) is a student-centered curriculum and instructional model that aims to provide students with authentic and educationally rich sport experiences in physical education (PE; Siedentop, 1998, 2002; Wallhead & O’Sullivan, 2005). This model has recently been referred to as the pedagogical approach to sport education (PASE), because it allows for many curricular variations to be implemented (Bulger, Mohr, Rairigh, & Townsend, 2007; Siedentop, 2002) and provides the opportunity to infuse various concepts not found in traditional teacher-directed learning. For example, fitness concepts using the SEM can be learned through students’ collective efforts in the creation of an obstacle course (Sluder, Buchanan, & Sinelnikov, 2009). The SEM originated from Siedentop’s doctoral dissertation on the “play education” curriculum theory, with the objective to link collective social life and sound pedagogical practices (Siedentop, 2002). The three goals of the model are for students to become competent, literate, and enthusiastic sportspersons (Siedentop, 1998). The model has six unique features to achieve these goals: (1) seasons, (2) affiliation, (3) formal competition, (4) record keeping, (5) a culminating event, and (6) festivity. Siedentop (1998) described the six characteristics as follows: 1. Seasons are synonymous to PE units; however, they are longer and cover more depth. 2. Students are affiliated to a team (having a team name, colors, cheers, and t-shirts). 3. Students play in formal competitions such as round-robin tournaments and league schedules, with no elimination rounds. 4. Record keeping provides individual and group feedback and can help reevaluate program goals. 5. At the end of the season, there is a culminating event such as a gymnastic show or a basketball championship. 6. End-of-season festivities are created to celebrate values such as individual improvement and fair play. The six features of the SEM can be modified to help teachers meet student needs (Knop & Pope, 1998; Penney & Clarke, 2005). The SEM can be used with a variety of physical activities such as golf, dance, fitness, gymnastics, orienteering, and bowling (e.g., Graves & Townsend, 2000; Pritchard & McCollum, 2008). A unique aspect of this model is that students learn diverse roles, such as being a coach, captain, scorekeeper, statistician, publicist, fitness trainer, equipment manager, sport-council member, or broadcaster. All students are encouraged to rotate among the various Adapting the Sport Education Model for Children with Disabilities

Devising a Safe and Successful Physical Education Program for Children with a Brain Injury

B rain injury is the leading cause of death and disability among children and young adults in industrialized countries (Ylvisaker & Feeney, 1999), and every year an estimated 50,000 to 100,000 people in the United States sustain a brain injury that causes permanent disability (National Institutes of Health, 1999). One out of every 30 school-age children gets a head injury before they are 16 years old, and 40 percent of all head injuries involve children (Hill, 1999). In fact, brain injury is the most common acquired disability during childhood (Bigge,Best,& Heller, 2001). A brain injury can damage several areas ofthe brain and affect a persons cognition, personality, speech, memory, attention, senses, perception, and motor abilities (Finsett & Andersson, 2000). These deficits present general educators and physical education teachers with the challenge of devising appropriate educational experiences for students with a brain injury (Stumbo & Bloom, 1990). Chapman (2000) suggested that, when a child returns to the educational environment after an injury, the focus should be on fulfilling the students unique intellectual, behavioral, and environmental needs. However, due to the many special considerations that each child requires (e.g., the need for physical and/or speech therapy) and the general lack ofknow1edge within the educational system regarding the post-injury changes in cognitive, behavioral, and physical

Analysing the structure, validity and reliability of the physical educators’ attitude toward teaching individuals with Disabilities III – Peatid III

Res_eng:The attitudes that teachers hold in relation to teaching students with disabilities is a key factor in the successful inclusion in regular school settings. In order to get a reliable insight on the teacher´s perceptions of inclusion possibility, it is crucial the use of valid instruments. This study intends to test the validity and reliability of the Physical Educators’ Attitude toward Teaching Individuals with Disabilities III - PEATID III (Rizzo, 1993), using a Portuguese version. Although this questionnaire is one of the most popular instruments to assess attitudes of Physical Education teachers regarding the inclusion of students with disabilities in mainstream Physical Education classes, its psychometric properties have never been fully assessed using confirmatory factor analysis. The participants in this study were 413 Portuguese physical educators, 253 males and 160 females, aged between 21 and 58 years old (M=32.43; SD=9.01). Our findings suggest that the PEATID III exhibits poor goodness of fit and does not provide a valid and a reliable scale to measure attitudes of physical educators toward the inclusion of students with disabilities in their classes.

Lessons learned from Paralympic School Day: Reflections from the students

The purpose of this study was to seek to understand and describe the experiences of sixth grade students, ages 11 and 12, taking part in the published Paralympic School Day (PSD) programme in relation to shaping attitudes and perceptions of disability and disability sport. This qualitative study utilized a phenomenological approach. Fifty-two students were purposively sampled, after taking part in a PSD event. Data from reflective writing responses were collected and analysed inductively using a three-step approach. The analysis revealed three interrelated themes: (a) ‘just like the rest of us’: participants’ new relatedness to those with disabilities; (b) ‘what it means to be normal’: challenging the idealized notion of normal; and (c) ‘PSD changed my view of disabled people’: a shift in paradigm. As the participants interacted with and learned from athletes with disabilities in a purposeful manner, they came to understand that disability was not synonymous with other-ness. This study provided new depth to our understanding of how participants experience PSD programmes, including profundities related to paradigm shifts, aha moments, and the meaning of normal.