Investigation of the Attitudes of Teachers Working in Special Education Schools Towards Games, Sports and Physical Activities Lessons
Abstract
The attitudes of teachers working in special education schools towards games, sports, and physical activities are crucial for the participation of students with special needs in these lessons and for promoting their physical activity levels. Participation in physical activity positively affects the physical, social, psychological, and spiritual development of students with special needs. This study aims to evaluate the attitudes of physical education and special education teachers towards games, sports, and physical activities lessons in terms of various variables.
The study involved 50 physical education teachers and 192 special education teachers working in special education schools. Data were collected using the "Attitude Scale Towards Games and Physical Activities Lesson," and ethical approval was obtained before the research. Descriptive statistics, normality tests, ANOVA, and independent samples t-tests were used for data analysis.
Results indicated that gender, age, total professional experience, and school level did not significantly affect teachers' attitudes (p> .05). However, physical education teachers had significantly higher attitude scores compared to special education teachers, and the service period in the current school also revealed a significant difference in attitudes (p <.05).
These findings suggest that attitudes vary by teaching branch and current school tenure but are independent of other factors. The more positive attitudes of physical education teachers are likely linked to their training background. Conversely, the decrease in attitude scores with longer tenure at the same school may reflect reduced motivation. In-service training programs are recommended to raise awareness among special education teachers and support active student participation.
Keywords: Disabled Students, Games-Sports and Physical Activities, Physical Education, Special Education, Teacher Attitude.
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.53016/jerp.v6i2.291
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