Online training on inclusive physical education: differences in self-efficacy and attitudes of pre-service PE teachers across disability and activity

Online education is increasingly implemented in educational programs. This study aimed to explore the differences before and after an online course on self-efficacy (SE) and attitudes of physical education students towards including children with disabilities in their classes across five categories of disability and three categories of activity context. An online survey was completed pre-course and post-course by 171 (92 females) physical education teacher education (PETE) students, to evaluate their attitudes as well as SE in situational-specific contexts, including fitness training, skill learning, and game participation. The five-question survey was designed to examine attitudes and SE towards including children with severe visual impairment; a prevalent subtype of cerebral palsy diplegia; wheelchair use due to spinal cord injury; Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD); and intellectual developmental disability due to Down syndrome. At the course onset, participants’ SE differed significantly across situations. At the end of the course, their SE had significantly changed only in some situations and disabilities. Their attitudes were significantly changed during the course (p<.001) for severe visual impairment, intellectual disability, and (ASD). However, while utilizing a considerable sample size it was still underpowered to account for changes in SE across disability cases and activity situations. Significant correlations (r>.05; p<.001) were observed between the PETEs’ SE and attitudes at the beginning of the course and the difference gained between the beginning and the end of the course towards the inclusion of children with all kinds of disabilities.