American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance - AAHPERD

Issue: March 2010

Using Self-Efficacy Theory to Facilitate Inclusion in General Physical Education
Martin Block, Andrea Taliaferro, Natasha Harris, & Jennifer Krause

Abstract: Self-efficacy, a situational form of self confidence, is critical in the success of all professionals, including physical education teachers. Most physical educators have confidence in their ability to teach fitness, motor skills, and sport and health concepts. However, their self-efficacy often declines when they face the need to include a student with a disability in a general physical education (GPE) class. This is not surprising, since most physical education teachers have had only one adapted physical education class during their undergraduate training and very little experience with inclusion. The purpose of this article is to show how Bandura’s social cognitive theory can help GPE teachers to develop higher levels of self-efficacy in order to successfully include students with disabilities in their classes.

Article category: Inclusion