Research at DCU to promote inclusion in primary physical education
Dublin City University (Susan Marron and Frances Murphy) and Munster Technological University (Jackie Gallagher) are partners in a European project to promote inclusion in primary physical education classes for all children, with a focus on children with additional needs.
The Erasmus+ funded project has developed an online resource highlighting practices, strategies and resources to support teachers to include all children in primary PE lessons.
In partnership with the Irish Primary PE Association, 20 Irish teachers participated in a workshop on DCU’s St. Patrick Campus on Saturday 12th June, the first of a series of European teacher professional workshops, to officially launch the online resource and to share practice. The event was also attended virtually by European partners and the European PE Association members who could observe the engagement of teachers with the resource and their collaborative work to share practice in the sports hall environment.
Speaking about the importance of the project Susan Marron from the School of Arts and Movement in DCU’s Institute of Education said:
“Within the Erasmus+ project, we have developed an online resource to support our primary school teachers as they plan for inclusion in their PE classes. This means that they can source information on multiple means of representation, engagement and action related to their teaching and children’s learning. This may involve adapting the teaching environment, teaching strategies, equipment or rules to engage children with additional needs more fully.
The teachers at the professional workshop demonstrated a keen interest, understanding and awareness of the importance of the engagement of each child in the physical education lesson supporting the evidence provided by the results of a survey of teachers across Europe as part of the project. Ultimately, the enhanced expertise of teachers in meeting the needs of each child can support children to overcome challenges and help them towards long-term engagement in physical activity”.
For more information about the project ‘Disentangling Inclusion in Primary Physical Education’ visit www.dippe.lu