Scheduled for Sport Management, Special Populations, Leisure and Recreation Posters, Thursday, April 3, 2003, 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM, Convention Center: Exhibit Hall A


Predictors of Preservice Physical Educators' Attitudes Toward Students With Disabilities

Sherry L. Folsom-Meek, Minnesota State University, Mankato, Mankato, MN and Ruth J. Nearing, St. Cloud State University, St. Cloud, MN

Public Law 105–17 mandates students with disabilities be educated in the least restrictive environment, which is the regular classroom whenever possible. The regular physical education class setting is a common placement for many students with disabilities, and is an environment in which student success is highly dependent on the attitude of physical education teachers. The purpose of this study was to describe selected attributes of instructors of the university introductory adapted physical education course and status of state Adapted Physical Education (APE) endorsements/licensures, and to determine which variables might predict preservice physical educators’ attitudes toward students with disabilities. Introductory APE course instructors (N=236) from institutions of higher education in 47 states completed questionnaires. Average age was 44.5 ± 8.6 years. The majority of instructors were females (59%). Over two thirds (67%) held a doctorate degree but fewer than half specialized in APE as major (44%) or minor (5%) areas of emphasis. Average number of graduate courses taken in APE was 5.3 ± 5.2, ranging from 0 to 20. All but 3% indicated hands–on experience with individuals with disabilities; 79% reported 100 or more hours. Instructors reported they attended conferences regarding individuals with disabilities (76%). Average number of years teaching the IAPE course was 8.6 ± 7.3; most (96%) enjoyed teaching this course. Regarding presentations, 28% presented at state meetings, 19% presented at district meetings, 21% at national meetings, and 6% at international meetings. Fewer than half (40%) reported that their state had an APE endorsement/licensure. Instructor attributes of attend meetings, present at state conference, present at district conference, present at national conference, and present at international conference, and status of APE state endorsement were the independent variables in the forward stepwise multiple regression analysis. Student attitude score from the PEATID–III PS (Rizzo, 1993) was the dependent variable. Two variables were significant predictors of positive attitude scores of preservice physical educators: present at international conference [F (1,192)=10.12; p=.001] and state APE endorsement/licensure [F (2,191)=7.22; p=.001]. These results have direct implications for hiring university APE instructors who are active and present at the international level, and for APE professionals in states that do not have APE endorsement/licensure, to work toward obtaining this status so students with disabilities might be better served by physical educators with positive attitudes.

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