Attitudes of Teachers Towards Inclusion of Students with Disabilities in Physical Education

Abstract

Aim: The aim of the present study is to examine the attitudes of physical education teachers towards teaching disabled students. Methods: A total of 612 physical education teachers working in the Ministry of National Education in Turkey participated in the research. “The Attitudes of Physical Education Teachers Towards Teaching Disabled Students Scale” (2020), developed by Beyazoğlu and Özbek, were applied to the teachers participating in the research. Since the data are normally distributed in the analysis of quantitative data, t-test and ANOVA tests from parametric tests were used. Results: According to the results of the research, it is observed that Turkish physical education teachers have favorable attitudes towards teaching disabled students within the framework of planned behavioral theory. In addition, the measure of attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control, behavior-oriented attitude and behavioral objective are important predictors of teachers' attitudes. Furthermore, each dimension is highly correlated with some variables. Conclusion: The proficiency level of teachers' teaching experiences, whether they have taken special training courses in undergraduate education, physical education for the disabled in undergraduate education, preconceived notions such as whether to take sports courses, whether to take various courses, training, etc. (in-service training) during teaching, age and marital status are highly related to teachers' attitudes. Keywords: Physical Education Teacher, Teaching, Disabled student, Attitudes