Physical education teachers and inclusion: still some way to go

Abstract

This article aims to outline the profile of Physical Education teachers working in the context of inclusive education, as well as to know their opinion about the inclusion of students with disabilities in regular education and check whether regular schools have physical accessibility to receive students. Methodologically, the research is quantitative, with a descriptive, cross-sectional objective, carried out with the participation of 28 teachers working in regular public schools in the city of Teresina-PI. The data reveal that 67.9% of the surveyed teachers have experience with disabled students and 71.4% have participated in professionalizing courses to help their pedagogical and teaching practice. However, it was noticed that 67.9% of the teachers reveal that the facilities of the public schools in which they work are not adapted to receive students with disabilities. In a worrisome way, 71.4% of the educators highlight the scarcity and lack of material to ensure a safer and more inclusive work with disabled students. The research allowed us to reflect that inclusive Physical Education still faces and experiences numerous problems, especially in the performance of teachers, highlighting the insufficiency of knowledge to meet the educational needs of disabled students. On the other hand, it reveals that these professionals see as positive and important the inclusion of students in regular schools, especially for learning and respect for differences. In this way, we can highlight that school and inclusive Physical Education still experiences many lemmas and dilemmas in this beginning of the 21st century regarding the pedagogical and inclusive treatment with disabled students.