RESEARCH ARTICLE
Experiences of an Adapted Physical Activity Intervention Program in Saudi Pre-Service Physical Education Teachers’ Self-Efficacy Towards Inclusion
Majed M. Alhumaid1, *, Selina Khoo2, Tânia Bastos3
Article Information
Identifiers and Pagination:
Year: 2022Volume: 15
E-location ID: e1875399X2206270
Publisher ID: e1875399X2206270
DOI: 10.2174/1875399X-v15-e2206270
Article History:
Received Date: 11/1/2022Revision Received Date: 16/3/2022
Acceptance Date: 1/4/2022
Electronic publication date: 18/08/2022
Collection year: 2022
open-access license: This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License (CC-BY 4.0), a copy of which is available at: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode. This license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Abstract
Introduction:
Adapted physical activity programs are considered to be one of the most effective and timely ways of increasing levels of self-efficacy among pre-service physical education teachers toward inclusive practices. However, the literature lacks adequate qualitative studies to measure the effectiveness of such programs. To address this paucity, the present study aims to explore pre-service physical education teachers’ experiences after completing a 6-week adapted physical activity intervention program designed to improve the inclusion of students with physical disabilities in general physical education settings.
Methods:
Six pre-service physical education teachers who completed a 6-week adapted physical activity intervention program participated in individual semi-structured interviews. Deductive and inductive techniques were used in the data analysis.
Results:
All the participants reported that the intervention program was relatively effective at enhancing their self-efficacy and preparation towards including students with physical disabilities in physical education classes.
Conclusion:
Regular exposure to practicum involving teaching students with disabilities is key to encouraging strong self-efficacy among pre-service PE teachers. Some suggestions for future intervention programs are provided.
