Terry L. Rizzo

Inclusion in Physical Education: Changing the Culture.

JOPERD • Volume 78 No. 2 • February 2007 S tandard-driven curriculum, evidence of learning through assessment, meaningful performance outcomes, and the growing diversity of student populations are transforming how inclusion is implemented and evaluated. Physical educators are raising fundamental questions regarding the most effective way to provide all students with a quality instructional program that meets individual educational needs in the context of political and social justice. A commitment to quality physical education entails a belief that each student can learn and succeed, that diversity enriches everybody, that students can learn better through involvement in a thoughtful and caring community of learners, that each student has strengths and weaknesses, and that effective learning results from the collaborative efforts of everyone (Tripp, Piletic, & Babcock, 2004). Contemporary motivational theorists (e.g. Glasser, 1986; Maslow, 1970) stress that a child’s feeling of belonging is critical, if not prerequisite, to a child’s motivation to learn. Complete exclusion or removal of a student from the general education program sends the message that belonging is not a basic human right but something that must be earned. Norman Kunc (1992) describes the dilemma:

Inclusion in Regular Glasses: Breaking from Traditional Curricula

Abstract Teachers should not assume that they always know the best way to perform a skill. Instead, they should, along with each student, adapt the movement form to the outcome of the task or goal. Adaptation requires choices and strategies for individualization.

Changing Kinesiology and Physical Education by Infusing Information About Individuals With Disabilities

Just as faculty are expected to refer to performance and behavior changes that occur by age, gender, and other factors, an infusion of information about individuals with disabilities requires us to focus on the range of human variability and its relation to physical activity across the life span. This call to infuse information about individuals with disabilities should affect most kinesiology/ physical education undergraduate and graduate curricula in institutions of higher education. Advocacy for this idea has been developing for many years (Hall & Stiehl, 1978; Sherrill, 1988; Stein, 1969). Such infusion could add to and enhance our ability to contribute to the broad goals of society. But for us to assume this role, we must change our curricula to meet our published mission of serving society. This change will help disciplinary and professional preparation programs produce a broader range of scholarly activity and provide leadership that other disciplines may envy

Inclusion: Why the Confusion?

Aphilosophical debate about inclusion (the practice of placing students with disabilities in regular physical education classes) is beginning to appear in physical educationjournals (Issues, 1997; Stein, 1994), at our professional conferences, and on the Internet. This debate has engendered some interesting and heated discussions. The purpose of this article is (I) to outline the evolution of inclusion so as to help both adapted and regular physical educators understand current issues relevant to inclusion, and (2) to offer strategies for teaching students with disabilities in regular physical education classes.

What Is a Highly Qualified Adapted Physical Education Teacher

JOPERD • Volume 81 No. 2 • February 2010 O n January 8, 2002, President Bush signed the No Child Left Behind Act into law. This act required statewide accountability for student performance in reading and math, greater flexibility for parents to make choices for their children if they attended a “low performing” school, and improved teacher quality. The requirement for better teacher quality has resulted in state guidelines to define what constitutes a “highly qualified” teacher. However, the U.S. Department of Education (2005) requires that, at a minimum, “highly qualified” teachers have a four-year college degree, a full state teaching license, and demonstrated knowledge of the subject they are teaching, either by having a college major in the subject or by passing an examination. State and national guidelines currently exist for teachers of “core” academic areas, but not for physical education or adapted physical education (APE) teachers. To address this, NASPE published a position paper that describes the qualities and characteristics of a “highly qualified” physical education teacher (Napper-Owen, Marston, Van Volkinburg, Afeman, & Brewer, 2008; Van Volkinburg, Marston, & Napper-Owen, 2008). The development of a comparable position paper for APE teachers began in 2006 at the AAHPERD National Convention and Exposition. The Adapted Physical Activity Council (APAC) of the American Association for Physical Activity and Recreation (AAPAR) formed a committee to develop a position paper defining the term “highly qualified” as it applies to the discipline of adapted physical education. The committee included current APE teachers and university faculty from APE teacher preparation programs. A draft of guidelines was written and shared with the committee for ideas and feedback. This draft was then edited and sent out to public school teachers for review and was then reviewed in an open forum at the following AAHPERD convention in 2007. Relevant suggestions were accepted, the document was edited, and the committee reviewed it again. A final draft was completed in May 2007 and received final approval from the AAHPERD executive board in winter of 2008. The full version of this document is available on the AAPAR web site (AAPAR & National Consortium for Physical Education and Recreation for Individuals with Disabilities [NCPERID], 2007) and is supported by both APAC and NCPERID. Table 1 describes the four minimum criteria for the training of a highly qualified adapted physical educator. The purpose of publishing this document was to inform public school administrators in special education and physical education about the requisite knowledge and skills that a highly qualified adapted physical educator must possess in order What Is a Highly Qualified Adapted Physical Education Teacher?

From the Back of the Physical Education Bus: The Functional Exclusion of Adapted Physical Education

Why has this nation failed to provide physical education instruction to many of its school children and especially neglected those with disabilities?