Current Practices and Future Directions in Reporting Disability in School-Based Physical Education Research

ABSTRACT

The primary purpose of this study was to determine what trends exist in the identification and description of participants with disabilities used in school-based physical education research. A total of 60 research articles published in the Journal of Teaching in Physical Education from 2010–2014 which included school-aged individuals as participants were analyzed. Five categories of analysis (disability, age, gender, race/ethnicity, and socioeconomic status) were coded. Of the 60 articles analyzed, five identified or reported disability of the students involved. Furthermore, all 60 reported age, 57 reported gender, 29 reported race/ethnicity, and eight reported socioeconomic status at the participant level. Although those with disabilities tend to make up nearly 10% of school-based populations, few studies mentioned the possibility of participants having a disability. In physical education research, as indicated in the current study findings, scholars have largely overlooked issues related to the proper identification and description of individuals with disabilities in research pertaining to school-aged populations.

KEYWORDS:

• Research methods
• children with disabilities
• diversity
• race/ethnicity