The Impact of an Online Course of Inclusive Physical Education on Teachers’ Skills and Knowledge

Abstract

In order to integrate pupils with disabilities into physical education (PE) classes, an online training course has been developed for PE teachers. The goal of the course was to provide knowledge and skills for teachers concerning issues of integration and inclusion of students with different physical and cognitive disabilities. The purpose of the study was to examine the contribution of the course to the teacher’s self-efficacy (SE) for integration of students with various disabilities in PE classes. The research method was to collect background data of about 100 teachers in the course, examining their status of entry in terms of knowledge of the integration of students with disabilities and their ability to resolve various situations and assessing their self-capable perception of the course. Throughout the course, the teachers watched videos and performed various tasks involving disability issues and possibilities for integrating students with disabilities into their classes. At the end of the course, the teachers were given a knowledge test, in which they provided information on the use of their own perception of their own level of knowledge. Findings indicate that the teachers improved their capability for inclusion in general, and also for educating their peers in terms of fitness and motor skills. The teachers reported that they gained their highest SE in the inclusion of children with developmental coordination disorders (mean = 3.6), and that the smallest gain involved the inclusion of those with spinal cord injury (mean = 3.0). The conclusion was that teachers benefited from the online course mostly through reflecting on the knowledge gained from their past experiences.