Background/Purpose: Research on the inclusion of students with physical disabilities in general physical education (GPE) documents occurrences of social isolation and limited social interactions, negative affect perceived by students with disabilities, and lack of appropriate accommodations being made by physical educators (Block & Obrusnikova, 2007). Given the critical role that the social environment plays in successful inclusion in GPE, a close examination of the factors influencing the beliefs and intentions of students without disabilities to socially interact with their peers with a physical disability in GPE is warranted. Therefore, the study investigated beliefs and physical education goals associated with intentions of students without disabilities to play with a hypothetical peer with a physical disability in GPE.
Method: The Children's Intentions to Play with Peers with Disabilities in Middle School Physical Education (CBIPPD-MPE) and the Task and Ego Orientation in Sport Scale-9 were administered to a convenience sample of 359 middle school-aged children, ages 11-13 years, from the Midwestern United States.
Analysis/Results: Descriptive statistics were completed to summarize the students' demographic information, achievement goals, beliefs and intentions. Correlational analyses revealed that behavioral beliefs (rs = .64), normative beliefs (rs = .52), control beliefs (rs = .51), and task-involved goals (rs = .43) were significantly and positively correlated with intention (p< .01). Ego-involved goals had the lowest and not insignificant correlation with intention, as well as with the other variables.
Conclusions: The findings offer empirical support for consideration of the achievement goal theory in the CBIPPD-MPE model.