PHYSICAL EDUCATION FOR STUDENTS WITH SPECIAL EDUCATION NEEDS IN EUROPE : FINDINGS OF THE EUSAPA PROJECT

Adapted Physical Activity (APA) is a service delivery profession and an academic field of study This study describes outcomes of the European Standards in Adapted Physical Activity project in adapted physical education area. The differences in special education services, including Adapted Physical Education in the 10 project partner countries were identified. The academic standards in APE were defined in four parts: (1) professional competencies of physical education teachers; (2) occupation description of the of physical education teachers, (3) Functional Map in APE; and (4) Knowledge, Competence and Skills Framework in APE. Outcomes of the project with identified further recommendations for EU Commission were provided in order to promote implementation of inclusive education strategies for students with special education needs in physical education.


INTRODUCTION
The European Union (EU) is an international organization which links 27 countries and operates with wide power to formulate, shape and implement community policy.Since, any political system is obligated to respond to the needs of its people, EU is no exception.The European Commission (EC) stands at centre stage and has the responsibility to take the decisions necessary for the attainment of the goals also has the right of establishment and defining common policies.In confirmation to EC'S commitment to education, EC responded early to the outcome of the first European summit in 1972, where the heads of the governments agreed that education is the most important vehicle that could lead Europe to a new era (O' Hanlon, 1993).Inclusive education is based on the right of all learners to a quality education that meets basic learning needs and enriches lives.Focusing particularly on vulnerable and marginalized groups, it seeks to develop the full potential of every individual.The ultimate goal of inclusive quality education is to end all forms of discrimination and foster social cohesion (UNESCO).Inclusion is a concept that has been widely spread across Europe, however some countries do not use similar terms (i.e integration).The idea of inclusion motivated a lot of European countries to approve concrete legislative initiatives aimed at considering the student with SEN not as a guest in school but as a full participant and member.However, the situation regarding inclusion varies across Europe.For example, the proportion of school age children having special educational needs differs widely, from about 1% in Greece to over 10% in Estonia, Denmark, Finland and Iceland.Definitions and categories of special education needs and disabilities also vary across EU countries.Some countries define only one or two types of special needs.Others categorize students with SEN into more than ten categories.Most countries distinguish 6 to 10 types of special needs.The proportion of school-age pupils in segregated educational settings ranges from under 0.5% in Greece, Italy, Portugal, and Spain to 6% in Switzerland (Special Educational Needs in Europe, 2005).Physical education (PE) and sports play an important role in European society and its specific nature were recognized in December 2000 in the European Council's Declaration

Klavina, Kudláček
Physical education for students with SEN in Eusapa project 47 EUJAPA, Vol. 4, No. 2 (Nice Declaration, 2000).Physical education and sport is considered as a growing social phenomenon which makes an important contribution to the EU's strategic objectives of solidarity.However, PE and sport is also confronted with new threats and challenges which have emerged in European society, such as racism towards marginalized groups as individuals with disabilities are considered.
In order to give strategic orientation on the role of PE and sport in Europe, to enhance the visibility of PE and sport in EU policymaking and to raise public awareness EC published the document "White Paper in Sport".This initiative aims among other things to encourage social cohesion in more integrated societies.Thus, all European residents should have access to PE and sport especially people with disabilities.However, many governments have committed themselves through legislation to making provision for PE but they have been/ or are being slow in translating this into action (Hardman, 2008).Physical education is one of the most important disciplines within the school curriculum where inclusion takes place first (Sherrill, 2004).In most European countries teachers are not permitted to decide if they will have a student with a disability in their class, but they can decide to which extent they will include this student (Lienert et al., 2001).Unfortunately, there are not extensive reviews of studies on the benefits of inclusive physical education (Block andObrusníková, 2007 , O´Brien, Kudláček &Howe, 2009).If a student is unable to participate safely or successfully in regular PE, then he/ or she should receive Adapted Physical Education.Adapted Physical Education is developmentally appropriate PE at its finest.It is adapting, modifying, and /or changing a physical activity so it is an appropriate for a person with disability.Although, Europe's strong commitment to inclusive education and the significant changes that have occur through these years, still each country remains unique in its approach to education of students with SEN in schools.Taking large variety of education systems into account, it is not surprising that different forms of structures and practices are evident across Europe regarding inclusion of students with SEN in general physical education.The aim of the following chapter is to explore the EC's policy on education of students with SEN in the countries which are represented in the European Standards in Adapted Physical Activity (EUSAPA) project.However, the diversity of education systems, legislations, terminology, teacher training programs in Europe rise the need for caution when comparing situation from country to country.Next, the short overview on legislation in ten EU countries involved in EUSAPA Project will be presented.In Belgian legislation special education is reserved for children and adolescents, on the basis of a multidisciplinary assessment.Specialized education is provided for students whose needs are of the same type, their needs defined in terms of the principal disability common to one of eight disability groups.Adapted Physical Education (APE) is not explicitly mentioned in legislation and the professional preparation in relation to APE is being delivered mainly at the Catholic University in Leuven.In Finland students are considered as SEN when their possibilities for growth, development or learning are decreased by the reason of disability, sickness or decreased working order.Students in need of psychological or social support or who are at risk in these areas have the right to have assistance for their learning.Students with minor learning or adjustment difficulties have the right to receive part-time special needs education in conjunction with mainstream instruction.All students have the possibility either for inclusive or special education services regarding the severity.Adapted physical education can be delivered by teachers such as daycare, classroom, special education, basic education, P.E.teachers and APE-teachers.Teacher preparation in relation to APE is being delivered in higher level institutions such as the University of Jyväskylä.
Furthermore, in France there is no established term which refers to the population of children who benefit from specific measures defined on the basis of special educational needs: the terms used (disabled children, nonadapted children) are all very specific, linked to certain connotations, and marked by a historical situation.In Portugal students with SEN are defined as children and young people receiving special education because they have difficulties in their learning process and participation in education, considering the interaction between inter-related factors and limitations in their functioning (DGIDC Direcção-Geral de Inovação e de Desenvolvimento Curricular (Innovation and Curricular Development Department), Ministry of Education).Adapted Physical Education is not explicitly mentioned in the law; however the law includes statements about areas where special needs have been identified and requires certain type of specialised support.Physical education is one of those areas.The professionals that work with children with SEN are PE teachers who completed their studies in institutions such as the University of Coimbra which in its curriculum APE are mandatory for all students.In Latvia SEN is considered any child that has visual impairment, hearing impairment, learning disability, mental retardation, language problems, chronic diseases like diabetes, asthma, physical problems, and psycho neurological diseases (Regulation Nr.542, LMES, 2003).Adapted physical education is not explicitly mentioned in law.The requirements for pedagogical staff working at education settings, such as teachers, are a higher education study diploma in a specific subject i.e sport education.The APE teacher is not yet included in the list of professions that are mandatory to work in education and sport education.Adapted physical education is being taught as part of studies of PE and physiotherapy at the Latvian Academy of Sport Education in Riga.In Poland children and youth with SEN are considered those with developmental disabilities such as mental retardation, hearing impairments, visual impairments, physical disabilities, chronic diseases, psychiatric problems, multiple disabilities, autism, behavioral problems and language and communication problems (Act on School Education of 7 September 1991).All pupils with SEN receive the assistance from Psychological and Educational Services Centres free of charge and on the voluntary basis.Results of psychological, pedagogical and medical assessment serve as a basis for qualifying pupils for suitable forms of education either in general schools, integration schools/classes, or special schools/classes.Teachers in special PE should participate in special life-long learning courses for developing their own competencies (ACT about System of Education, 7/09/1991).In Sweden the basic principle in education from childcare to transition period is "a school for all"-access to an equivalent education for all.The Swedish Education Act (1985Act ( :1100) ) stipulates that all children and young people must have access to equal quality of education, irrespective of gender, their geographical place of residence and their social and financial situations.While the disability is not highlighted in the Education Act, but in the curriculum it is emphasized that every school has a special responsibility for pupils with disabilities.The municipalities must provide children, adolescents and young adults with various disabilities with an education equal to that received by others in the community.There are also programs of Special Needs Education that train specialists to work as consultants to teachers.It is expected that from 2011-2012 year some training in Special Educational Needs will be compulsory for all new teachers (Jerlinder & Danermark, 2007).The Czech Act on Education provides for children with special educational needs and their right to education, whose "content, forms and methods suit their educational needs and abilities."Support measures that these children are entitled to are defined by Decree No. 73/2005 as follows: special methods, forms and procedures, special textbooks, teaching materials, compensation aids, rehabilitation aids, special education subjects in addition to regular subjects, services of an assistant teacher, reduced number of children in class, provision of pedagogical-psychological services and other potential adjustments under Inclusive Education Plan.In addition, the Czech Republic is now implementing the National Action Plan for Inclusive Education, which deals with the issue in a much broader sense with the aim of preparing a comprehensive systematic strategy for making the Czech education system accessible to all children.Legislation in the United Kingdom (UK) prohibits discrimination in education and supports inclusive education.The UK also has obligations under international human rights law to provide inclusive education for all children.On October, 2010, the Equality Act came into force stating that it is unlawful for any education provider, including a private or independent provider, to discriminate between pupils on grounds of disability, race, sex, gender reassignment, pregnancy and maternity, religion or belief, or sex.

Competencies of Physical Education Teachers
Physical education is a compulsory part of education in most European countries.What differs is the amount of allocated teaching hours for PE in EU countries, the approach to curriculum and the competencies of PE teachers.For example, during the last decade time allocated for PE has increased only in 16% of EU countries, remained the same in 68% of countries, and has been reduced in 16% of countries (Hardman, 2008).Learning more about teachers concerns, perspectives and experiences with inclusive PE can help European policy makers with policy and decision-making related to school rules and curriculum guidelines.Teachers can also feel like their voice is being heard and finally this information can be used for teacher preparation programs.Currently, most teachers do not feel competent to teach students with SEN in inclusive PE classes and in most cases there is absence (or lack of) support services and resources to facilitate inclusion in PE.However, there are notable features concerning differential variations between different parts of Europe.For example, in central and Eastern Europe inclusion is less implemented than in the overall EU countries in average (32% as opposed to 45%).Also, facility provision for students with disabilities is a more acute problem in central and eastern Europe (60% of countries report deficiencies, whereas only 25% report deficiencies in Western Europe).Conversely, lack of staff expertise is perceived to be greater in Western Europe than in eastern European countries (Hardman, 2008).In a study that was conducted in the USA and Germany (Lienert et al., 2001) reported that PE teachers were worried about lack of resources, large class sizes and inadequate facilities.Teaching was also reported to be much more difficult in an inclusive setting.Finally, teachers held collaboration concerns about support and team teaching with other professionals or support personnel.Morley, Bailey, Tan and Cooke (2005) also found that teachers were concerned with the lack of support services and training and also about the accessibility of environment.Finally, Herold and Dandolo (2009) emphasised the need to upgrade initial teacher training programs to address inclusive PE more effectively.Regarding the professional preparation Hardman (2008) and his colleagues recommended that consideration be given to recognising three category levels of PE teacher: (a) Physical Education Teacher (One Subject Specialist) usually 240 ECTS dedicated to acquiring PE related competencies; (b) Physical Education Teacher (2-3 Subjects) usually minimum of 35-50% (that is 84-120 ECTS) of content excluding professional training is PE-related; and (c) Generalist Teacher usually minimum of 10% (that is 24 ECTS) of content is PE-related.The 'Generalist Teacher' will usually be responsible for teaching PE in primary schools.This way it can be achieved an appropriate training in pre-service and inservice PE teachers education related to inclusive PE, which should empower them to teach students with SEN in an inclusive setting.
The AEHESIS (Aligning a European Higher Education Structure in Sport Science, 2003) project aimed to align professional preparation and develop qualification framework in four sport science areas: 1) sport coaching, 2) physical education, 3) health and fitness, and 4) sport management.About 70 partners from 28 countries were involved in this three year project.The project outcomes regarding PE present generic and specific knowledge and skills needed by physical educators in Europe (Table 1).(e) supporter/helper.There were some negative reactions to the supporter/helper role, as the situation of territorial issues with the GPE teacher often arose.
Overall it was highlighted that the various roles in the consultation process is a huge part of the APE teacher's daily life.Specific training in consultation was not part of the participants' APE training.
Lytle and Hutchinson suggested that more training in areas such as adult interactions and effective communication in the consultation process is required.Kudláček et. al. (2008) studied the nature of work and roles of public school adapted physical educators in selected school districts in the United States with the aim of adding to the information base to enable the improvement of service delivery and professional preparation.Results showed the differences in the nature of work among APE specialists.Participants had high teaching loads (44-90 students) and served a wide range of schools (1-20), which created quite different teaching profiles.Most teachers were involved in APE consulting.Results also indicated the need to incorporate issues of consulting into teacher preparation and to change the university studies to make them

Functional Map in Adapted Physical Education
Functional Map (Table 2) describes all the functions or activities that may be performed by APE professional working in education, training and human resource management, either directly or indirectly (as service, or resource/ consultation provider).These EUSAPA aims are reflecting the best practice at a European level.The functional map both reflects current practice and anticipates the functions which may become more predominant in future when there will be need for APE specialists across Europe because of increased inclusions of students with disabilities in general education.Not all these functions will necessarily be performed in each school in every country.An individual school or teacher may select and perform a number of these functions according to their needs and possibilities.The Functional Map is used as the basis for drafting standards for these functions.The resulting standards will describe what someone applying APE/APA needs in terms of the competence, knowledge and skills.The European Standards in APE can then be used to design appropriate APE staff development programs and assess whether staff perform these functions effectively.3).One of the most important things about the KCSF is that it is not intended to be a description of the competencies required by all individual APE practitioners.This document indicates the core knowledge requirements essential for all practitioners, but the competencies presented together with specific knowledge and skill requirements are an overview of key activities performed by one APE professional or by a team of people.It is important to note that the KCSF tries to reflect the best practice that will be required of APE professionals, not just today, but over the next few years.For this reason, it is an evolving framework and can be updated to reflect the progress made in professional practice.The scope of the competences framework ranges from the preparation of the teaching environment through to application of teaching practice.The framework contains competencies that concern the broad population of APE teachers/consultants.The order of competence presentation does not indicate any chronological or functional order, or any order of importance, nor are any levels of competence indicated.Key competencies APE professionals should acquire can be divided in four areas focused on (1) preparation, (2) teaching, (3) evaluation and (4) collaboration and life-long learning.2) hearing impairments, (3) learning disability, (4) moderate and light mental retardation, (5) language problems, (6) chronic diseases like diabetes, asthma, (7) physical problems, and (8) some psycho neurological diseases (Regulation Nr.542, LMES, 2003 from Latvia).Thus all APE professionals should acquire bellow specified knowledge also in relation to these SEN (and possible more in accordance with national regulations and legislation).Actividad Física Adaptada (APA) es una profesión de la prestación de servicios y un campo de estudio académico.Este estudio describe los resultados del proyecto Estándares Europeos en Actividad Física Adaptada en el área de educación física adaptada.Se identificaron las diferencias en los servicios de educación especial, incluida la Educación Física Adaptada (APE), en los 12 países socios del proyecto.El nivel académico de las APE se define en cuatro partes: (1) competencias profesionales de los profesores de educación física, (2) descripción de la ocupación de los profesores de educación física, (3) Mapa Funcional de APE, y (4) Marco de conocimientos, competencias y destrezas en APE.Los resultados del proyecto junto con identificación de nuevas recomendaciones para la Comisión Europea se proporcionan con el fin de promover la aplicación de estrategias de educación inclusiva para estudiantes con necesidades educativas especiales en educación física.

Table 1
Generic and specific knowledge and skills needed by physical educators in EuropeAbility to demonstrate competence in PE curriculum planning and review and appreciate the need for curriculum development connecting theory with practice • Apply a range of PE-related practical and teaching skills • Ability to synthesise and apply knowledge and understanding to the critical analysis and evaluation of physical education theory research and practice • Relate aims of PE to more general curricular objectives • Prepare, conduct and report on a PE-related project

Table 2 .
Functional Map in Adapted Physical Education

Table 2 (continued)
I Special educational needs (SEN), II Adapted physical education (APE), III Individual education plan (IEP), IV Paraprofessionals

Table 3 .
Knowledge, Competence and Skills Framework in Adapted Physical Education