Using a Social Justice Lens when Training Future Physical Educators for the Inclusion of Students With Disabilities

Most children with disabilities are included in general physical education (Snyder, de Brey & Dillow, 2016). Unfortunately, interviews with students with disabil-ities suggest that they often do not feel they have been properly accommodated and welcomed by their physical education teacher (Lieberman & Block, 2017). Additionally, physical educators consistently report not feeling adequately prepared for inclusion (Obrusnikova & Block, 2016). It is well known that most physical education teacher education programs only require one course in adapted physical education, and information in these courses tend to focus on dis-abilities, legal requirements, and general strategies for modifications (Kwon, 2018; Piletic & Davis, 2010). Placing a child with a disability in general physical ed- ucation without support may not meet the intent of inclusion. Perhaps adding a rationale for inclusion and for accommodating and welcoming students with disabilities could be presented through a social justice lens. The purpose of this paper is to present the use of social justice in introductory adapted physical ed-ucation courses as a means of changing future physi-cal educators' attitudes toward working with students with disabilities. The paper will begin with an introduc-tion of ableism and an ablelistic mindset that can lead to stereotypes and prejudice. This will be followed by a definition of social justice and presentation of the three key principles of social justice (equality, equity, and participation) with application to training future physical educators.