THE BARRIERS PHYSICAL EDUCATION TEACHERS ENCOUNTER WHEN INCLUDING CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS IN MAINSTREAM PHYSICAL EDUCATION AND EXTRA-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the barriers physical education (PE) teachers encounter when including children with Special Educational Needs (SEN) in mainstream physical education (PE) and extra-curricular activities. The study used semi-structured interviews to interview six PE teachers on their thoughts and experiences in this area. The study identified several barriers such as the lack of training during Initial Teacher Training Education (ITET) and through Continued Professional Development (CPD), the influence of LSA’s, appropriate equipment, the curriculum and extra-curricular activities and assessment. The study also provided teachers with the opportunity to suggest ways in which these barriers can be overcome. To improve knowledge in this area, future research may wish to look at how a PE teacher’s undergraduate degree prepares them to include children with SEN in lessons and extra-curricular activities. This may provide an insight to whether undergraduate degrees are educating students efficiently. It may also be beneficial to use a larger sample size of PE teachers to obtain a greater range of data. The bigger the sample size the greater number of views and opinions there would have been to analyse and interpret.