Within Ireland, there is a significant lack of research with regard to the level of self-efficacy pre-service teachers (PSTs) in physical educator possess in regards to teaching children with disabilities. As such, the purpose of this study is to examine the effects of a ten-week adapted physical activity (APA) programme on the self-efficacy levels of PSTs in physical education teachers towards teaching children with disabilities.
Method:
Participants included 61 PSTs (ages 19-25) in their 3rd year of a physical education initial teacher education (PE-ITE) program at a university within Ireland. PSTs assisted 45 children and young adults (ages 5 to 21) with various disabilities, as they participated in a weekly 1-hour APA programme. Over the course of ten weeks, children engaged in different physical activities such as dance, games, and health-related activity.
Data was collected through a survey questionnaire and a focus group interview (n = 4). PSTs completed a ‘Self-Efficacy Scale for Physical Education Teacher Education Majors toward Children with Disabilities’ (SE-PETE-D) questionnaire both before and after their participation in the APA programme. This was followed by a focus group discussion whereby participants discussed the general results from the questionnaires; sharing their experiences of the programme and the impact it had upon their self-efficacy levels towards teaching students with intellectual, physical and visual disabilities.
Analysis/Results:
Quantitative analysis suggests that self-efficacy scores towards the three forms of disabilities presented in the SE-PETE-D were statistically higher after participation in the APA programme than those prior to participation in the programme. With regard to the interview, through thematic analysis of the focus group discussion the following themes related to the participants’ experiences emerged:
- Increase in self-efficacy and confidence of PSTs as a result of participation in the APA programme,
- Positive attitudes linked to higher levels of self-efficacy and confidence, and
- The ability of PSTs to modify tasks and instructions for children with disabilities.
The focus group discussion also reinforced findings presented from the questionnaire to be true and accurate.
Conclusions:
The results of this research support the continued implementation and evolution of this current APA programme in its efforts to expose Irish pre-service teachers to children with disabilities. Changes in self-efficacy, confidence, attitude and linkage to elements of programming and experience that influenced them have been recorded through the examination of PSTs and henceforth, teacher education best practice should utilize these findings to further inform physical education teacher education programming.