Abstract:

Pre-service teacher education in physical education (PE) has traditionally followed formats that were heteronormative, ableist, gender-segregated and based on patriarchal dominant cultural norms of sport movement skills. In past practices, this has often resulted in teacher education programs repeating pedagogical patterns of the past, favouring able-bodied, physically literate and athletically skilled individuals. From a social justice perspective, this stance cannot remain if we are to ensure that the UNESCO (2021) guidelines are upheld, that being that quality physical education is available and accessible to all students.
This paper presents an alternative, more inclusive model of curricular design for physical education teacher education (PETE), one that empowers pre-service teachers (PSTs) with the skills, strategies and knowledge to use principles of UDL in designing physical education lessons. In this research, PSTs experienced the three principles of UDL, representation, action/expression, and engagement, through a series of physical activities aimed to develop life-long fundamental movement skills. Representation involved curriculum design from multiple movement patterns and perspectives, action/expression allowed PSTs to demonstrate learning in multiple means, and engagement involved offering options to students that engaged them with locally available and accessible physical activities. Through a two-year teacher preparation program at a Canadian university, teacher candidates experienced alternative movement experiences, researched inclusive design, created, planned and implemented fully inclusive physical education lessons. Through 8 focus groups with 6 participants each, PSTs used video reflections to capture the deconstruction of their previously held notions of traditional physical education, and articulated the pivot points and reconstruction of these concepts. Using qualitative analysis, discourse analysis, and video analysis, researchers articulate themes that are essential in the process of new teachers developing more inclusive pedagogical practices in PE curriculum design, implementation and evaluation of lessons in physical education.

References:
[1] PHE Canada. (2021). Return to school 2021: Equity, diversity and inclusion. https://phecanada.ca/sites/default/files/content/docs/phe-canada-back-to-school-edi-en-updated-aug2021-1.pdf
[2] Taliaferro, A. R., Hammond, L., & Wyant, K. (2015). Pre-service physical educators’ self-efficacy beliefs toward inclusion: The impact of coursework and practicum. Adaptive Physical Activity Quarterly, 32(1), 49–67.
[3] UNESCO (2015) Quality PE: guidelines for policy-makers.
[4] UNESCO. (2017). A guide for ensuring inclusion and equity in education. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000248254
[5] UNESCO. (2021). Making the case for inclusive quality PE policy development: A policy brief. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000375422
[6] United Nations. (2016). Committee on the rights of persons with disabilities: Right to inclusive education. https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/HRBodies/CRPD/GC/RighttoEducation/CRPD-C-GC-4.doc

Keywords:

Physical Education, Pre-service Teacher Education, Universal Design Learning.