Experiences in physical education and sport: reflections of female athletes with visual impairments

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to understand how individuals identifying as female, an athlete and having a visual impairment experience physical education and sport experiences. An interpretative phenomenological analysis research approach was adopted, and four female athletes with visual impairments aged 23–28-years-old acted as participants. The study utilised two sources of data: semi-structured, audio-taped, telephone/video call interviews and reflective interview notes. Data were analysed thematically using a three-step process and two themes were constructed (a) Physical education was ‘just a credit’ and (b) ‘If you enjoy this, we will drive you’. The participants reported that they did not have meaningful physical education experiences. Interestingly, however, the participants noted that these poor experiences were not critical to them, as they had developed a sense of athletic identity in others, outside of school physical activity opportunities supported by family.

KEYWORDS:

• Blindness
• inclusion
• disability
• Paralympics

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes on contributors

Maggi Buckley was a master’s degree student in the Department of Human Movement Sciences at Old Dominion University (Norfolk, VA). Buckley is currently a physical education teacher for the Bavarian International School in Munich, Germany.

Justin A. Haegele is an associate professor in the Department of Human Movement Sciences at Old Dominion University (Norfolk, VA). His research focuses on the interdisciplinary field of adapted physical activity, with a primary interest in examining how individuals with disabilities experience physical activity participation. Haegele is a Research Fellow with the Research Council of SHAPE America and Associate Editor for Adapted Physical Activity Quarterly and Quest.

Xihe Zhu is an associate professor and chair of the Department of Human Movement Sciences at Old Dominion University (Norfolk, VA). His research focuses on the areas of motivation, psychology, interventions and evaluations in physical activity, health, fitness and behavioural learning. Zhu is a Research Fellow with the Research Council of SHAPE America and Editorial Board member for the Journal of Teaching in Physical Education and Quest.

Jonna Bobzien is an associate professor and chair of the Department of Communication Disorders and Special Education at Old Dominion University (Norfolk, VA). Her research focuses primarily on individuals with severe disabilities and autism spectrum disorders.