Creating Equal Opportunities for Children and Youth with Disabilities to Participate in Physical Education and Extracurricular Activities

TEACHING STYLE

Inclusive teaching styles create a climate and culture of participation for children and youth with and without disabilities. The educational philosophy and beliefs of the individual teacher and the school system influence opportunity. Patterns of teaching must be informed by the need to safeguard the civil rights of all students, including those with disabilities, both by providing equal athletic opportunity and protecting students from reasonably foreseeable risks to their health and safety. In PE and athletic programs, the focus has traditionally been on competition rather than instruction, but has recently shifted to “new PE,” which focuses on improvements by the individual student. Children and youth with disabilities and those without athletic prowess require adaptive opportunities and precise instruction for concerns such as poor motor coordination (Stanish, 2010).