SELF-EFFICACY OF PRE-SERVICE PHYSICAL EDUCATION TEACHERS TOWARDS TEACHING STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES IN SAUDI ARABIA

Abstract

Self-efficacy is an effective predictor of the successful inclusion of students with disabilities. The self-efficacy of pre-service physical education (PE) teachers has a significant impact on the successful implementation of inclusive education; however, limited research exists on this issue in many parts of the world. In Study 1, I determined the difference in Saudi pre-service PE teachers’ level of self-efficacy towards inclusion in general PE classes based on three types of disability (intellectual disability, physical disability, and visual impairment). I also evaluated the effect of independent variables (e.g., experience in teaching students with disabilities and the experience of observing PE teachers teaching students with disabilities) with the covariate of attitude scores on participants’ self-efficacy towards including students with intellectual disability, physical disability, and visual impairment in general PE classes. Two hundred sixty pre-service PE teachers (Mage = 22.01 years) enrolled in a university in Saudi Arabia completed the Arabic version of the Self-Efficacy Scale for Physical Education Teacher Education Majors Toward Children with Disabilities (SE-PETE-D) and the Attitudes Toward Inclusion in Physical Education (ATIPE). Using an independent t-test and repeated- measures MANCOVA, I found that participants’ self-efficacy was highest towards including students with intellectual disability in general PE classes (M = 3.55) and lowest towards including students with physical disability (M = 3.40). I also found that having previous experience of observing PE teachers teaching students with disabilities significantly influenced participants’ self-efficacy [F (1,253) = 1350.321, p = < .001, ηp2 = .842, large]. In Study 2, I examined the effectiveness of a 6-week adapted physical activity (APA) intervention programme on the self-efficacy of Saudi pre-service PE teachers toward including students with physical disability in general PE classes. Two groups of pre-service PE teachers (experimental group = 35, control group = 35) enrolled in two universities in Saudi Arabia, with a mean age of 22.69 years (SD = 1.17), were recruited in this study. Participants completed the Arabic version of the SE-PETE-D and PESEISD-PD before and after the APA intervention programme. Using a one-way ANCOVA, I found that there was a significant improvement in self-efficacy for the experimental group after the APA intervention programme compared to the control group (p < 0.001, ηp2 = .532). In Study 3, I explored in-depth experiences of participants in the APA intervention programme and how this programme impacted their self-efficacy towards including students with physical disability in general PE classes. I conducted face-to-face semi-structured interviews with six experimental group participants from Study 2. I conducted a deductive content analysis using NVivo12 software. The participants confirmed the findings of Study 2 that their self-efficacy towards including students with physical disability in general PE settings have increased after participation in the APA intervention programme. Study 1 suggests that observing a role model significantly predicts self-efficacy towards the inclusion of students with disabilities. Study 2 and 3 support the continued implementation of this type of intervention programme as an integral part of physical education teacher education programming in Saudi Arabia.