Meaning of Physical Education Learning in Inclusive Schools from

the Perspective of PE Teachers

Risani Riski Rahayu

, Caly Setiawan

, Reza Alfa Pranantyo

Master of Sport Sciences, Faculty of Sport Science, Universitas Negeri Yogyakarta, Yogyakarta, Indonesia

Keywords: Phenomenology, learning, inclusive physical education

Abstract: The limited scientific information on inclusive education is a problem in the literature of Indonesian

education. It is due to the fact that inclusive education is relatively new for Indonesian education. This

research aims to find out the meaning of physical education learning for students with disabilities in

inclusive schools. This is a qualitative research with phenomenological approach. The participants are 10

physical education teachers of inclusion schools in Yogyakarta. The data were collected by in-depth

interview and interview using photo-elicitation technique. The interview results were recorded digitally and

transcribed to be analyzed. The research instruments were the researchers themselves. They used interview

protocols as a tool when they become an instrument. The data analysis was done by implementing two

procedures of phenomenological approach, namely horizon and textural description. This research presented

the textural description of the meaning of physical education learning in inclusive schools. Textural

description illustrated the meaning of physical education learning in inclusive schools which consisted of

artistic photos, meaning metaphor, meaning of learning experience, and opinion on meaning.

1 INTRODUCTION

Education is a process of learning carried out in a

structured way and within a certain period of time

(Usman, 2005). Education is one of the most

important things to support students in facing the

future. For this reason, the meaningful learning

process indeed determines the quality of education.

Speaking of education in Indonesia, it cannot be

separated from inclusive education that lies in the

central position in Indonesia. There is a role of the

global movement of inclusive education. This

movement results in the Salamanca Statement,

which contains the call for government around the

world to ensure more inclusive education. It leads to

the birth of inclusive paradigm filled with humanity

and human rights enforcement.

An inclusive education is a paradigm of

humanist education. Inclusive education is a

philosophy supporting the educational needs of

students with disabilities in general education

classrooms (Daniel, 2015). Inclusive education is an

educational concept or approach trying to reach

every individual without exception.

The purposes of inclusive education are: (1) to

provide opportunity for all students who have

physical emotional, mental and social abnormalities,

or have the potential intelligence and/ or special

talent to obtain quality education in accordance with

their needs and abilities, (2) to realize an education

management for all students that respects diversity,

and does not discriminate as referred to in point 1.

All schools should carry out inclusive education.

The management of educational units for students

with special needs is organized with the principle of

independence and school-based management.

In the educational process of regular schools,

physical education is an academic subject similar to

other subjects. The physical education itself is one

aspect of the students’ overall educational process

through carefully designed physical activities, which

are carried out consciously and programmed to

improve physical and social skills and abilities and

the development of intelligence (Abdoellah, 1996).

In the role of physical education, there is also an

integral part of the general education of students,

especially those with disabilities. The education

refers to special physical education. Specific

physical education is defined as one comprehensive

Rahayu, R., Setiawan, C. and Pranantyo, R.

Meaning of Physical Education Learning in Inclusive Schools from the Perspective of PE Teachers.

DOI: 10.5220/0009785403090315

In Proceedings of the 3rd Yogyakarta International Seminar on Health, Physical Education, and Sport Science in conjunction with the 2nd Conference on Interdisciplinary Approach in Sports

(YISHPESS and CoIS 2019), pages 309-315

ISBN: 978-989-758-457-2

309

service delivery system designed to identify, and

solve problems in the psychomotor domain (Sherril,

1981). That service can be given by a specialist in

special physical education or by a physical education

teacher who has received special training to carry

out a variety of special physical education tasks

aimed at helping those with disabilities achieve

physical growth and development, mentally,

emotionally and socially commensurate with their

potential through a carefully designed program of

regular physical education activities. From all these

objectives, it can be concluded that the objectives of

physical education learning lead to the needs of the

students’ life.

In neighboring countries such as Malaysia, a

research had been conducted by (Bari, Harun, Yasin,

and Salamuddin, 2011). They also conclude that

teacher education does not have adequate capacity to

deliver inclusive physical education. A case study

research in Ghana, Japan, the United States, and

Puerto Rico shows teachers' lack of confidence in

their abilities in teaching physical education for

children with special needs (Hodge, Ammah,

Casebolt, et al; 2009). If the problem is not resolved

immediately, this can give a negative impression on

the confidence of a child with special needs in the

teaching and learning process. Besides, it can even

support the social inequality in physical education

learning. The weaknesses of each student do not

make it to be considered as a reason to continue in

getting benefits from physical education itself.

The number of children with special needs in

Indonesia increased annually. According to the data

of Statistics Indonesia in 2005, there were 4.2

million children with special needs in Indonesia

(Republika, 2013). Meanwhile in 2007, there were

8.3 million children with special needs in Indonesia

(Statistics Indonesia). It can be concluded that the

amount increases every year. However, UNESCO

recorded that in 2009, Indonesia’s ranking in the

implementation of inclusive education for children

with special needs kept declining. In 2007, Indonesia

was ranked 58 out of 130 countries. Meanwhile in

2008, Indonesia was ranked 63 out of 130 countries.

In 2009, Indonesia was even ranked 71 out of 129

countries. Those data illustrate that the number of

children with special needs in Indonesia increased,

but those involved in the schools were very few, due

to the tendency that physical education teachers did

not have sufficient capacity to deliver inclusive

physical education (Bari, et al., 2011). Researches

consistently show that teachers positively responded

to the idea of inclusion. Yet, they felt unprepared to

face many problems that may come from teaching

students with special needs, such as lack of time,

lack of support, inadequate training, ineffective

teaching strategies, bad teaching equipment or

facilities (Avramidis and Norwich, 2002;

Doulkeridou, et al., 2011; Fejgin, et al., 2005;

Hodge, et al., 2004, 2009; Westwood and Graham,

2003).

The discrepancy between the existing theories

and the above facts made the researchers interested

in conducting research on the meaning of physical

education learning perceived by teachers of

inclusive schools. Thus, this problem was necessary

to be examined since the role of teachers was

essential for the learning process in school. If it was

ignored, it would bring negative impact on students

with special needs.

2 METHOD

2.1 Design of Research

This research was a qualitative research using

phenomenological approach. Bogdan and Biklen

state that phenomenology basically tries to

understand a subject from the point of view of the

subject itself (Ahmadi, 2014). Phenomenology

departs from the subjectivism mindset that does not

only observe the visible phenomenon, but tries to

explore the meaning behind each phenomenon.

2.2 Participants

This research involved 10 physical education

teachers. The criteria of subject recruitment were: a)

men or women; b) individuals involved in physical

education in inclusive classes; c) have been teaching

in inclusion schools for more than one year.

2.3 Instrument and Data Analysis

Technique

The instrument of this research was the researchers

themselves which were considered as trained people

(Ahmadi, 2014). Human interest as an instrument

basically roots in the fact that everything in the

studies cannot be determined.

The data analysis technique used in this study

follows the phenomenological approach. The

procedure of phenomenological data analysis

follows what (Moustakas, 1994) suggests to getting

an overview of the meaning of physical education

inclusive learning. The objectives are to find: 1). the

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2019) in conjunction with The 2nd Conference on Interdisciplinary Approach in Sports (CoIS 2019)

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horizon (to determine a significant statement of a

unit of meaning), 2). the description of textural

experience/ meaning (the meaning of the subject).

As the first step, the researchers carried out

phenomenological reduction that covers: (1).

bracketing, where the research focus was placed in

parentheses (set aside), everything was removed so

that the whole research was based solely on the

topics and questions; (2). making horizon

statements, by observing that all subject statements

are equally important and deleting all statements that

were not relevant to the topics and research

questions; (3). grouping the horizons into themes;

and (4). organizing the horizons and themes into a

comprehensive textural description. For the second

step, the researchers conducted imaginative

variations. At this stage, textural descriptions were

transformed into structural descriptions. The

researchers focused on textural descriptions and

observe the descriptions from various possibilities

and perspectives.

3 RESULT

The purpose of this research was to investigate the

meaning that physical education teachers build when

teaching students with disabilities in inclusive

schools. The main focus of this research was the

meaning of physical education teachers in inclusive

schools. The meaning of the physical education

teachers which was the main focus of the researchers

produced several sub-themes. They were artistic

photos, meaning metaphor, meaning of learning

experience, and opinion on meaning. In this chapter,

the researchers provided those sub-themes as a

product of phenomenological analysis of physical

education learning in inclusive schools, which cover

the following elements.

3.1 Educator Human Resource

Educator Human Resource is a description or

illustration of the educators who participated in this

research. Demographics of the educators played an

important role in this research. The demographics

described were the participant descriptions. The

results of the demographics gave information about

the background of the participants and as a

consideration of the researchers in making decisions

of data collection.

Those who participate in this research were 24 –

51 years old. Nine out of ten participants were the

alumni of sport sciences department of Universitas

Negeri Yogyakarta, while one participant had

finished undergraduate study at Universitas PGRI.

All of them had earned bachelor degree. In other

words, they already had the competencies obtained

from formal education to teach at school.

Table 1. Origin of Universities

No Participant Education

1 IF UNY

2 DIP UNY

3 DW UNY

4 CAK UNY

5 NDM

Universitas PGRI

6 SJR UNY

7 MR UNY

8 LJB UNY

9 SJY UNY

10 EGR UNY

All participants fulfilled the criteria of data

collection. All of them had more than one-year

experience of teaching in inclusive school. Almost

all participants took the sports education major.

Only one participant took a major in the department

of coaching education.

The teachers who participate in this research had

sufficient teaching experience, ranging from 1.5 – 34

years. However, the duration of teaching experience

could not guarantee that they already had an

educator certification. Some participants admitted

that they did not have an educator certification

despite having more than one year of experience.

The participants taught in elementary up to high

school in Yogyakarta. Those schools were

categorized as inclusive schools with students of

special needs who studied at the schools.

3.2 Unit of Meaning

The unit of meaning derived from the data collected

by the researchers which were then analyzed and

grouped. The unit of meaning consisted of theme

and sub-themes. The theme chosen was about the

meaning of learning. From the theme, subthemes

were obtained. The subthemes of this research were:

photos, meaning metaphor, meaning of learning

experience, and opinion on meaning. The results of

this unit of meaning were verbal statements

conveyed by the participants. With this unit of

meaning, we could determine several expressions

that could be classified in each correct sub-theme.

Meaning of Physical Education Learning in Inclusive Schools from the Perspective of PE Teachers

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Therefore, the data collected could be examined

deeper.

Table 2. Unit Meanings and Participant Statements for

Learning Experience

Unit of meanin

Examples of

Verbatim Statements

Theme Sub-theme

Meaning

of learning

a. Artistic

Photos

“There is a cat, in front of

the door”

b. Meaning

Metaphor

“There is a food stall,

well the cat’s just being

silent and it is like

daydreaming, alone, let’s

pretend that the cat’s

staring at its friends over

here.”

c. Meaning of

Learning

Experience

“In the assessment, the

inclusive boy still gets

high score, even though

he did nothing.. no, I

keep equalizing them.

There is a certain

criterion for each. It’s that

simple”

d. Opinion on

Meaning

“The most important

thing in assessment is that

they can do what they are

told. If they can’t, they

try to do their best, they

will get a score just right

of the minimum criteria

of mastery learning, not

less, but just right of the

minimum criteria of

mastery learning”

3.3 The Meaning Built when Learning

Physical Education

One of the parts of phenomenological research is the

presentation of descriptions of meaning on the

experience of participants. The researchers focused

this research on the meaning of physical education

learning in inclusive schools. The meaning of

learning in this research was the following sub-

themes: Photos, Terms, Experiences, and Opinions.

3.3.1

Artistic Photos

The artistic photo in this research was a bridge

between the meaning contained in the teacher and

the utterances which could then be analyzed by the

researcher. The images to express meaning were at

the interview stage which used photo-elicitation

techniques with artistic photos. The artistic photos

used by researchers were obtained freely through

creative commons on the internet. This kind of

visualization would facilitate the expression of

meaning on a metaphoric experience. Using this

method, the meaning expressions built by

participants for their experiences in physical

education learning would be able to be touched

metaphorically and deeply.

The sub theme of the artistic photos was image

selection. Image selection refers to the artistic

photos which would be chosen by the participant as

a metaphoric of the meaning built.

The participants were asked to choose photos

that had been provided by the researchers (ten

artistic photos) according to the session on the

protocol. The researchers would then ask the

participants to give the metaphoric photos chosen

and to express the meaning in depth. The photos

chosen in one session were still allowed to be

chosen in the next session. This was because the

visualization of participants might change.

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2019) in conjunction with The 2nd Conference on Interdisciplinary Approach in Sports (CoIS 2019)

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Table 3. Image Choice of the Participants

Participants

Metaphoric

Image Choice

Example of

Metaphoric Image

“cats”,

“group

photo”,

“riding a

motorcycle”

“group photo”

“car”,

“a family”,

“puppet

character”

“puppet

character”

“elementary

school

students”,

“elementary

school

students”,

“a

”

“a jeep”

“the car”,

“people

carry things”

“people carry

thin

s”

“carrying a

lamb”

“carrying a lamb”

“toy car”,

“a bridge”,

“a glass”

“a

lass”

“seeds that

contain”,

“rice fields”,

“white clean

cloth”

“rice fields”

“rice plants”,

“odong –

odong’,

“A mother

drawing

batik on a

white cloth.”

“a mother

drawing batik on

a white cloth”

“a picture of

blazing

lava”,

“A picture of

a wall, isn’t

it?”

“a picture of

blazing lava”

n10

“a desert”,

“water, isn’t

it?”

“a desert”

3.3.2 Meaning Metaphor

Teacher is a person who has been through the

sharing and learning process so that they can

become a teacher. Yet, it does not mean that teachers

are all the same. They are different in the skills of

teaching, understanding, and reasoning. It is proven

by the data results collected; the terms stated by the

participants have nothing in common. However, in a

more complex stage, the meaning contained in these

participants had the same tendency.

The terms in this study were parts that contained

the meaning of inclusive learning expressed by the

participants. The ten participants were able to

express using their own language and terms. Yet, the

meaning of each utterance was very clear. As

perceived by Mr. ND, who likens inclusion to a

newborn child, taking care of a newborn child is not

easy. It needs patience, time, and energy.

3.3.3

Meaning of Learning Experience

The meaning that could be expressed by the

participants certainly starts from personal

experience. The parameter of minimum one-year

teaching experience was set as a criterion of

participants who could be interviewed so that they

could feel the development of that meaning by

themselves. Yet in fact, the participants had the

experience of more than a year. This was good for

getting the information that the researchers needed.

The participants learned from the experience

when interpreting the learning process. Just as Mr.

ND said “the inclusive child usually does not have

synchronous posture and brain ability”. This is

clearly illustrated through his experience.

From Mr. ND’s statement, it could be concluded

that children with special needs had problem in their

formal education. Meanwhile in order to achieve the

learning objectives of physical education, the

“posture” and “brain” of the students needed to be

trained and developed. Therefore, we were aware

that there was a problem that the teacher should

face.

3.3.4

Opinion on Meaning

This research aims to express meaning and the

interview was related to the opinion of the

participants. The opinions of the participants were

those which could be analyzed, because their

opinions relate to the meaning they expressed. The

opinions of experience came from one of the

participants about his direct experience dealing with

children with special needs. Mr. ND stated “It is

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because... they always think of playing and playing.

Even though in the class they seem to pay attention,

their views are empty like... It’s like they are not

focused.” From the statement, it can be analyzed that

the teacher did not only teach, but also observed and

analyzed the problems of the children with special

needs. Furthermore, Mr. MR gave a statement that

represents the teacher’s point of view, “For instance,

if we, the normal people, can live our life together

with the children with special needs, and cover up

their lacks.” From the point of view of Mr. MR, he

did not only teach about learning materials, he also

had the principle to provide life values for all his

students.

4 DISCUSSION

The teacher's knowledge of the inclusive school was

very influential to the meaning that he built. In this

research, all participants had different meanings.

Despite the difference, all the meanings were

positive. There were participants who considered

learning to be a challenge, a heavy burden, or a

reality, etc. However, they had a foundation with

their respective meanings. None of the participants

isolated or ignored the children with special needs.

This is in accordance with the concept of inclusive

education in the form of organizing education that

provides opportunities for all students who have

abnormalities and have the potential for intelligence

and / or special talents to take part in education or

learn in an educational environment with students in

general (Kustawan, 2012).

The experienced participants would obtain the

meaning of learning. The minimum teaching

duration of one year for new teaching participants

allowed them to have enough time to create and

construct meaning. The meaning they attached to the

experience added to the purpose of inclusion,

physical education inclusion, and inclusive learning.

Although not all participants succeeded in

understanding the concept through education

without professional development activities, they

could produce an ideology of inclusion, like the one

from the participants who interpreted inclusion as a

child's freedom, not from coverage.

The other method used in this study was photo-

elicitation. By using artistic photos, participants

could express their meaning. They chose photos that

represented what they felt inside. However, the

picture did not participate directly with inclusion,

but through the picture the participants could reveal

the meaning they had, as explained by one of the

participants who accepted the meaning of inclusion

like a newborn child. Caring for a young child can

be easy. It needs patience, more time, and energy.

One of the meanings obtained from the

participant who likened the game of cats was that the

only silence occurred when the children were free to

do anything. This participant compared a child with

special needs as a cat. The participant tried to feel

what was felt by the student. From his experience,

he considered that it was very difficult for children

with special needs to be the same as the others. That

was the goal of inclusive schools. One of the best

learners should study together without seeing any

difficulties they might have.

In its implementation, the participants had

succeeded in correcting the weaknesses or strengths

of the students. One of the participants said that this

created particular indicators for children with special

needs. He did this because the participants wanted

the children with special needs to get satisfying

grades as the results of his hard work. The emphasis

of the inclusive curriculum about getting a school

must be adapted to the curriculum regarding the

talents and potential the students have.

The participants’ opinion of the meanings

revealed that they theoretically did not deepen it.

Yet, the fact shows that there are similarities in

principle with what has been written in scientific

researches, especially in terms of inclusion. “The

most important thing in assessment is that they can

do what they are told. If they can’t, they try to do

their best; they will get a score just right of the

minimum criteria of mastery learning.” This is one

of the main ideas in the concept of inclusion.

Competent teachers will be better in creating an

effective learning environment and in managing

their class so that students get optimal learning

outcomes (Usman, 2006).

5 CONCLUSIONS

It can be concluded that that the meaning of physical

education learning in inclusive schools was strongly

influenced by the teaching experience and the

educating instinct of a teacher. Lots of experience of

teaching in inclusive classes was an important factor

in building meaning by teachers on physical

education learning in inclusive schools. Therefore,

the meaning that had been built would affect the

teachers’ behavior in inclusive learning. Many

teachers did not have comprehension of inclusion,

and not many of them joined the professional

development activities for inclusive learning. Yet in

fact, from the meaning implied by the teachers, the

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2019) in conjunction with The 2nd Conference on Interdisciplinary Approach in Sports (CoIS 2019)

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attitude they chose was not inversely proportional to

the existing theories.

The meaning of physical education learning in

inclusive schools was also influenced by the

metaphor of meaning, the meaning of learning, and

opinion on meaning. Artistic photos were helpful in

revealing the meanings hidden in a teacher. For the

metaphor of meaning, meaning of learning, and

opinion on meaning, these sections could support

and explain more deeply about the meaning

expressed by the teacher. The influence of the

sections made the meaning of the teacher to be

clearly understood.

The meaning of physical education learning in

inclusive schools was also inseparable from the

influence of barriers and support, experienced by

teachers while teaching children with disabilities.

The knowledge, skills, and competencies of the

teachers were the main obstacles for the teachers

when handling children with disabilities. The lack of

knowledge could influence the meaning they built.

Likewise, the meaning could be also influenced

by the experience dealing with children with special

needs. Those children were different in the

characteristics, so they needed to be handled in the

right way. This was also an obstacle for the teachers

who had different abilities in dealing with children

with special needs. However, those obstacles could

be erased with the help of the teachers’ instinct as an

educator. Even though the teachers’ knowledge was

limited in terms of inclusion, they could determine a

positive attitude by interpreting inclusion based on

humanity.

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