Fostering Positive Relationships Among Adapted and General Physical Educators in Support of Students With Disabilities

Abstract

During an educational climate that is marked by teacher attrition and shortages, relationship-building among teachers is more critical than ever. The workplace relationships between adapted and general physical education teachers has been problematized and may negatively affect the education of their students with disabilities. Grounded in role socialization theory, we present three non-fiction narratives of adapted physical education teachers to highlight the growing workplace concerns emerging through research and their implications for kinesiology and physical education departments as they train preservice teachers. After each narrative we provide reflective prompts for faculty to engage their preservice teachers. Finally, we conclude with a series of practical strategies faculty may consider to improve the relationship-building skillset among their preservice adapted and general physical education teachers.

Notes

1 Because there is a lack of research that explores the contemporaneous accounts of prospective APE teachers before teacher education, for this narrative we draw from the retrospective account of Raymond, a preservice APE teacher. His story focuses on his interactions with PE and, by extension, his PE teachers.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Wesley J. Wilson

Wesley J. Wilson ([email protected]) is an assistant professor in the Department of Kinesiology and Community Health at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in Urbana, IL.

Kevin Andrew Richards

Kevin Andrew Richards is an associate professor in the Department of Kinesiology and Community Health at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in Urbana, IL.

Paul Malinowski

Paul Malinowski is a doctoral scholar in the Department of Kinesiology and Community Health at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in Urbana, IL.

Ben D. Kern

Ben D. Kern is an assistant professor in the Division of Kinesiology and Health at the University of Wyoming in Laramie, WY.