Stories about Physical Education from Young People with Disabilities

Abstract

This article focuses on young people with disabilities and mainstream physical education in England. Within this context there have been unprecedented levels of funding and resources directed towards physical education in order to support more inclusive physical education experiences for all young people, including those with disabilities. Physical education holds a unique place within the school curriculum; it is a subject area where the physicality of students is publicly exposed to others (including teachers, classmates, and support staff). There are likely to be some tensions around physical education and its relationship with students with disabilities. In particular, it is claimed that physical education was conceived of, and continues to be practiced, in a normative way. By drawing on interview data from three young people with disabilities, non-fictional narratives are used to re-present their identities at the intersections of schooling, physical education and disability. These narratives offer insights about how physical education impacts on various aspects of social life including home, family, friends and other school subjects.

Keywords:

• ability
• friends and family
• inclusion
• narratives
• physical education
• school report
• students with disabilities
• support staff

Acknowledgements

An earlier version of this article was presented at the 2010 Leisure Studies Association Annual Conference in Leeds, UK. Funding for conference attendance was provided by Leeds Metropolitan University, Leeds, UK. There was no research funding for this study, and no restrictions have been imposed on free access to, or publication of, the research data.