Physical Education Majors’ Judgments about Inclusion and Teaching Students with Disabilities

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to analyze the beliefs about inclusion and teaching students with disabilities of physical education (PE) majors from universities in North Carolina (NC). The participants were PE majors (n = 147) and other enrolled students (n = 30) at colleges and universities in NC. The research method was descriptive survey (Fraenkel & Wallen, 1990) situated in the theory of planned behavior (Ajzen, 2001). A survey was used to collect posttest data, which were analyzed with Kruskal-Wallis ANOVA tests to determine differences as a function of gender, ethnicity, and experience teaching persons with disabilities. The participants did not differ in their beliefs about the concept of inclusion. In contrast, there were differences as a function of gender and ethnicity in acceptance of teaching students with disabilities and perceived need for additional preparation. Implications of this research for professional preparation are discussed.