Inclusion and teaching Physical Education (PE) in Greece: PE teachers’ understandings and practice of inclusion and Mosston’s Spectrum of Teaching Styles.

Abstract

Inclusion in relation to special educational needs (SEN) has become an imperative in the educational policies of many countries. However, the implementation of inclusive practice is not straightforward and has been the focus of many studies. In Physical Education (PE), Mosston’s Spectrum of Teaching Styles is an integral component of many educational systems but has not been studied in relation to teachers’ understanding of inclusion and inclusive practice. Mosston’s Spectrum of Teaching styles has been promoted in Greece since 2006 and this study investigates the relationship between the beliefs and practices of specialist primary PE teachers in Greece in relation to inclusion and Mosston’s Spectrum of Teaching Styles. The study has a single-case research design with embedded units and was conducted in mainstream primary schools with 15 participant PE teachers. Data was collected using semi-structured observations of participants’ PE lessons followed by semi-structured interviews focusing on their understanding of inclusion, of inclusive practices and their knowledge and use of Mosston’s Spectrum of Teaching Styles. The findings suggest that some of the teachers’ beliefs about inclusion resonate with current understandings as reported in the literature whereas other teachers refer to older understandings of inclusion and disability. Very few teachers had a detailed knowledge of Mosston’s Spectrum of Teaching Styles but were found to use them to some extent during their lessons. While not commonly associated with inclusion, the teaching styles from Mosston’s Spectrum that were used did not prevent the use of inclusive practices by the teachers. This study relates Mosston’s Spectrum of Teaching Styles to a single dimension of inclusion and challenges the value it is accorded in Physical Education policy in Greece where inclusive practice is promoted by particular educational policies. The findings lead to suggestions for enhancement of both policy and practice in the context of Physical Education in Greece and more widely.