Abstract
Background: The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate the experiences of physical education (PE) teachers regarding online PE lessons for children with ASD during the COVID-19 pandemic. Method: Participants in this study were 16 PE teachers who took part in one-on-one semi-structured phone interviews. Interview data were analyzed using Braun and Clarke’s recipe for thematic analysis. Result: Four overarching themes were found: (1) we were unprepared for online lessons, (2) challenges of online lessons, (3) parental support, and (4) solution offers. Conclusion: The results revealed that PE teachers were unprepared for the sudden transition to online lessons due to the COVID-19 pandemic. PE teachers started the online teaching with parent support despite the challenges, but they were not satisfied with the online PE model.
Acknowledgements
We want to thank the PE teachers participating in the study. Our gratitude goes also to all the administrators of general education schools we have met. Thank you for your trust, openness and collaboration.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.