LEAPING THROUGH THE HURDLES OF LEARNING: A STUDY ON THE CHALLENGES AND COPING MECHANISMS OF LEARNERS WITH DISABILITIES IN PHYSICAL EDUCATION

Lyn Vargas-Tapan

Graduate School Student, Emilio Aguinaldo College-Manila

INTRODUCTION

In Physical Education (PE) classes, the same with other subjects, inclusivity must be practiced by teachers in the provision of materials, presentation of subject matter, and execution of methods and strategies in classroom setting. However, there are tendencies that learners with special needs, especially those who have disabilities, struggle to maintain their participation in physical activities in class. This condition of learners poses challenge to them, to the teachers, and to the parents as well. This paper seeks to conduct a qualitative study on the challenges and coping mechanisms of Learners with Disabilities (LWD) in Physical Education classes.

The researcher was motivated to conduct the study due to the vagueness of program implementation of Special Education (SPEd) for Learners with Disabilities (LWD) among schools. There are schools that offer special education specifically designed for learners with special needs while other schools have no provision for special education at all. It is true that some schools have special programs for special education but these are not embedded in the curriculum of the subjects.

As a whole, the study aimed to describe comprehensively the situations of Learners with Disabilities who are taking the subject Physical Education.

Specifically, the study sought to answer the following questions:

1. What are the primary challenges faced by learners with disabilities (LWD) in Physical Education classes?

2. How do the challenges of learners with disabilities (LWD) influence their participation and engagement in Physical Education classes?

3. What coping mechanisms do learners with disabilities employ to respond to the challenges encountered in Physical Education classes?

4. How do the teachers and parents/guardians perceive the needs of the learners with disabilities and the assistance given to them?

5. Based on the result of the study, what intervention can be proposed to address the challenges of learners with disabilities in Physical Education?

By the end of the study, the paper has been expected to benefit the learners with disabilities, well-bodied learners, PE teachers, school administrators, curriculum developers, parents, community, and future researchers.

The scope of the study covered only the challenges and coping mechanisms of learners with disabilities (vision, hearing, orthopedic, and health) in Physical Education classes.

The locale of the study was only based in Alabat Island National High School (AINHS), the main secondary school in Alabat District – Alabat, Quezon.

METHODS

The study focused on identifying and making meaning of the challenges and coping mechanisms of learners with disabilities (LWD) in Physical Education. The setting of the research was natural and the research objective was to understand deeper the experiences of the participants. Consequently, the researcher utilized qualitative research design in the form of a qualitative-descriptive since the context was related to special conditions of learners in education. The main participants of the study were the LWDs who were perceived to have been facing constraints in performing tasks in PE since the competencies of the subject are predominantly involved in physical activities. A qualitative-descriptive approach was chosen so as to have in-depth description of the experiences and conditions of learners in a natural setting.

The participants of the study were primarily the identified learners with disabilities (LWD) who have critical encounters in Physical Education classes. To support the reliability and validity of data, triangulation was used by means of involving the PE teachers and the parents of the LWDs as participants.

In total, there were six (6) identified critical learners with disabilities in Grade 12; six (6) parents/guardians relative to the number of the LWDs; and two (2) PE teachers in senior high school of AINHS as the participants of the study.

Because the study had explicit intention to investigate about the situations of learners with disabilities in a naturalistic setting, purposive sampling was employed. To validly support the use of the sampling, the participants were chosen based on baseline data of health assessment of LWDs in Grade 12 in respect to the context of their performance in PE classes. The assessment was done by the school nurse and the guidance counselor of senior high school. They provided data on which participants should be chosen based on the set criteria.

Before gathering the actual narratives of the participants, necessary documents and permissions were first secured. Face and content validations of the interview questions were also done. Lastly, a pilot test was also conducted in a local private high school in the municipality of Alabat.

Personal or face-to-face interviews were used. Vernacular language (Tagalog) was used by the researcher and the participants as the language medium during the interview.

In all, there were three participant-groups involved in data gathering: the learner-participants, the parent-participants, and the teacher-participants. Having multiple sources of information, the responses supported validity and reliability of findings. The researcher decided to use multiple-source triangulation instead of the multi-method triangulation since the situations of the learners could be sensitive and subject to data privacy towards vulnerable participants.

The participants’ narratives were transcribed, coded, and categorized. Thematic analysis was employed to arrive at the major themes of the paper.

         The researcher practiced all ethical considerations in the study such as informed consent, data privacy, data sharing, and respect towards and anonymity of participants. An ethical clearance was first secured before doing the gathering of narratives.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

         For the first research objective about the challenges faced by the LWDs in PE, all the learner-participants shared common experiences of struggles when performing physical activities due to their needs such as fatigue, cardiovascular and respiratory attacks, vision impairment, hearing impairment, and muscle deformities.

It can be concluded from the narratives of the LWDs that physical disabilities are contributing factors to experiencing struggles of learners in learning in Physical Education. These physical disabilities, regardless of their severity, pose serious challenge to learners in their classes. They are having difficulties when it comes to performing physical fitness tests, sports, dancing, and other outdoor activities because these activities require them to excess considerable efforts based on their physical buildup. These learners are vulnerable and have the tendencies to be marginalized by the people around them which may result to poor academic performances, thus preventing them from meeting the desired competencies in the subject (Metz et. al, 2024).

The LWDs could communicate with their PE teachers clearly about their physical struggles, their worries in performing tasks, and their learning preferences in the subject so that the teachers will be able to decide on the most suitable teaching methodologies in delivering their lessons. Teachers, meanwhile, should be able to assess the learners during the very first sessions in their subjects for them to check each of their needs. The issues in having learners with special needs in regular classes may give insights to the educational sectors on empowering programs dedicated for such learners.

         For the second research objective regarding the influence of the perceived challenges of the LWD-participants to their engagement and participation in PE, all of them also share the same experiences of not being able to fully engage in performance tasks due to being excluded. Moreover, they also have the same experiences of receiving emotional impact such as feeling of embarrassment caused by their perceived challenges on physical struggles in PE.

The challenges experienced by LWDs strongly influence their engagement and participation in performance tasks in Physical Education. The physical struggles of LWDs create negative emotional impact which results to their withdrawal from engaging in activities in the class. The struggles of learners do not only cover their physical condition but also break their self-esteem and social skills. Grieco (2024) stated in her article that even though teachers are sympathetic of learners with disabilities, they forget that they should also be given equal opportunities the same as other learners in class.

The PE teachers should be able to explore a variety of approaches, strategies, and materials that will cater to the needs of the LWDs in learning PE and maximize their engagement in performing tasks. The educational institutions and departments should enhance professional trainings for teachers for them to learn modern approaches to accommodating learners with special needs on their physical and emotional welfare.

For the third research objective about the coping mechanisms employed by the LWDs to respond to the challenges in PE, it was found out that all the LWD-participants are able to cope up from their struggles because of the strong support system they have with the impact of being around with their peers, parents, and teachers.

Individuals surrounding the LWDs play a vital role in providing necessary support to help them cope up with their challenges in Physical Education. Peers, parents, and teachers embody the support system that LWDs rely on in times of their struggles. The learners are able to adapt to the challenges because they know that they have significant others who can give them material and emotional support. Branstetter (2020) emphasized that having support system is a key factor in the success of academic endeavors of learners with disabilities.

It can be recommended that the school and the teachers have constant communication with the parents and peers of the LWDs so that they can work together to provide support to these learners. The teachers may explore buddy system or pairing system in class activities so that the LWDs get assistance from their classmates or peers. Home-based enhancement activities can also be used to engage the parents or relatives of the LWDs in aiding them when finishing tasks that are not confined to the traditional classroom proceedings. The education sector as a whole may develop materials that cater to the learners with special needs that are interactive and socialized.

For the fourth research objective which is about the perception of the parents and teachers on the needs of the LWDs, five of the six parents share the common sentiments of sadness, worry, and pity towards their children. On the part of the PE teachers, both of them also have the same feelings towards the needs of the LWDs. Just like the parent-participants, they, too, feel sadness, worry, and pity.

Although there are sentiments shared towards the LWDs and such could be connotatively interpreted as negative, it was still revealed that parents and teachers extend their help and demonstrate affirmative attitude towards the LWDs. This positive reinforcement, as the narratives tell, can be in the form of support through addressing the LWDs’ medical needs, accepting their capabilities, and encouraging them to strive in school. Meanwhile, another significant finding from the narratives comes from the situation of LWD 5 (hearing impairment profile) wherein his parent is unable to provide enough responses about positive reinforcement to her child. It was found out that their family is struggling with the provision of financial resources to their child. The parent shared that the child does extra jobs to independently support his needs, especially when his studies is concerned. By making meaning from the narratives of the parents, socio-economic status of the LWDs can have an impact on their educational endeavors and the support they can get from their families. As to the PE teacher-participants, they also extend the same positive reinforcement to the LWDs the same with their parents.

It is concluded that even though the parents and teachers feel negatively towards the struggles of the LWDs, they are still active in countering this challenge through positive reinforcement of encouragement, acceptance, and consideration. Positive reinforcement coming from parents and teachers is an indispensable element to help the LWDs to achieve comfort and confidence in learning in Physical Education. The positive reinforcement practiced by parents and teachers consists of guiding the LWDs in medication, expressing acceptance of their conditions, and providing them encouragement to combat their struggles.

The teachers should practice the highest degree of consideration when giving tasks to the LWDs. It should be expected that teachers are hands-on when the LWDs are doing the tasks assigned to them, matched with words of encouragement to push the learners at their full potential despite their needs. There is no room for strict supervision on the learners because their self-esteem could also be hampered. Meanwhile, the parents of the LWDs could show the necessary support to their children in the form of material and emotional provisions to overcome their challenges in medication, self-esteem buildup, and learning engagement in PE and even other subjects. The LWDs’ family is extremely capable of understanding the learners’ background since they are deeply involved in their academic endeavors, hence citing their crucial role in instilling positive attitudes toward the children (Logsdon, 2022). Meanwhile, teachers should be able to extend their support and encouragement to LWDs for them to experience learning equal to those who have no special needs (CDC Healthy Schools, 2022).

For the fifth research objective regarding the creation of intervention program for the LWDs in PE, the themes and the results could collectively support the process. Accordingly, the responses and narratives of the three major participant groups were examined to arrive at significant findings on the formulation of the research output in the context of the school and Physical Education. From the three primary sources, it was revealed that modified learning could be done by the school to support the needs of the LWDs. The said modified learning comes from the suggestions of the participants characterized by inclusion and assignment of special roles for the LWDs in PE classes. Moreover, the participants also suggested about the development of collaboration in school through partnership and communication between and among the learners; the school personnel such as the teachers, guidance counselors, and nurses; and parents.

To conclude, the LWDs benefit from modified learning approaches and strategies in Physical Education. This modification in learning considers the needs of the LWDs to perform activities aligned to their abilities without being excluded in class. Meanwhile, developing collaboration in school opens opportunities for the LWDs to communicate their needs in Physical Education and provide data to the school for designing interventions suitable to the LWDs. Collaboration in school can be achieved through constant open communication between and among learners, teachers, other school personnel such as guidance counselors and nurses, and parents and the community. It was recommended in the study of Blavt (2023) that innovations, new approaches, and differentiated and adaptive teaching strategies can prove effective in the physical development and health of LWDs. Meanwhile, it was revealed in the study of Issaka (2024) that collaborative efforts of the school and community on curriculum development, awareness campaigns, and support services contribute to improved academic performance of learners with disabilities.

Some of the future directions of the study that could contribute to the welfare of the LWDs in Physical Education can be considered:

The PE teachers, guidance counselors, nurses, and parents, collectively, should constantly coordinate between and among one another regarding the needs of the LWDs and the interventions to be done to address these needs in PE.

The curriculum developers in PE could revisit the competencies in the subject and gauge the accessibility of the learning tasks for learners with special needs. They may embed other related competencies of game officiating, documenting, developing statistical data, directing music, and other integrative tasks appropriate to the diverse needs of learners, especially for the LWDs. Other classroom-based activities specially designed for the LWDs can also be crafted.

School administrators, including head teachers, subject coordinators, and master teachers, could establish a dedicated program for Physical Education that promotes diversity and inclusion of learners such as regular conduct of sporting and gaming affairs, dance competitions, fitness camps, and other related activities that will involve all learners regardless of their disabilities.

The school should include in their annual plan and budget the trainings for teachers handling LWDs, counseling for LWDs and their parents, and building facilities addressing the needs of the LWDs. Furthermore, the school could develop a more intensive assessment procedures to identifying and addressing the needs of the LWDs in their learning endeavors.

Lastly, the community officials, local government, benefactors, and other stakeholders should express their intention to support the school in providing for the needs of the LWDs in PE such as assistive devices, medicinal supplies, medical checkups, and equipment for physical fitness, sports, dances, martial arts, and disaster preparedness for all learners to meet the objectives of the subject regardless of their special needs and their family’s socio-economic background.

REFERENCES

Branstetter, R. (2020, October 19). How Teachers Can Help Students With Special Needs Navigate Distance Learning. Cal Alumni Association. https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/how_teachers_can_help_students_with_special_needs_navigate_distance_learning

CDC. (2022, June 24). Inclusive School Physical Education and Physical Activity. Www.cdc.gov. https://www.cdc.gov/healthyschools/physicalactivity/inclusion_pepa.htm

Grieco, H. (2024, May 7). Students With Disabilities Deserve Inclusion. It’s Also the Best Way to Teach (Opinion). Education Week. https://www.edweek.org/teaching-learning/opinion-students-with-disabilities-deserve-inclusion-its-also-the-best-way-to-teach/2019/05

Issaka, C. (2024). Impact of school-community collaboration on the academic achievements of learners with disabilities in inclusive schools within Tamale metropolis. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/381490184_Impact_of_School-Community_Collaboration_on_the_Academic_Achievements_of_Learners_with_Disabilities_in_Inclusive_Schools_Within_Tamale_Metropolis

Logsdon, A. (2022, May 23). Why parents have such an important role in special education. Verywell Family. https://www.verywellfamily.com/parental-importance-special-education-2162701

Metz, S., Zander, B., & Hunger, I. (2024). The suffering of students in physical education. Unsettling experiences and situational conditions. Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy, 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1080/17408989.2024.2352825

Oksana Blavt. (2023). Effectiveness of Inclusive Physical Education Classes on the Ability to Perform Rhythmic Activities of Students with Disabilities. Journal of Learning Theory and Methodology, 4(1), 19–25. https://doi.org/10.17309/jltm.2023.4.03

DOI 10.5281/zenodo.15630362