Actually, it's pretty much like normal PE”
Reconstructing social hierarchies from the perspective of visually impaired students and their teachers in segregated PE
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 13129798 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Brigitta Höger (0000-0002-1238-318X, University of Vienna, corresponding author), Stefan Meier (0000-0002-1929-9036, University of Vienna), Martin Giese (0000-0002-2058-2728, Philipps University of Marburg) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 7 |
| Publication date | 2025-11-17 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Frontiers in Sports and Active Living (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2624-9367 • E-ISSN: 2624-9367 |
| Publisher | Frontiers Media (PUBLISHER • CH) |
| DOI | 10.3389/fspor.2025.1582648 |
| OpenAlex | W4416301110 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 44 |
Purpose Blind and visually impaired (BVI) students frequently report negative experiences in inclusive Physical Education (PE), often facing social exclusion. Many transfer to special schools, however, research on social inclusion and exclusion dynamics in segregated PE remains scarce. This study examines how BVI students and their sighted PE teachers navigate ability-related social hierarchies in a segregated school in Austria. The investigation is grounded in the concept of ableism and an intersubjective understanding of inclusion. Materials and methods Following Clark's Mosaic Approach, participant-led school tours were conducted along with semi-structured guideline interviews with 19 BVI secondary school students and three sighted PE teachers. Data were analyzed using thematic content analysis. Results and conclusion The analysis identified three key social hierarchies in segregated PE: (1) the differentiation between sighted students and BVI students, reinforcing the perceived necessity and benefits of segregated PE from both student and teacher perspectives; (2) the differentiation between visually impaired and blind students based on their level of vision, which is embedded in teaching practices and internalized by students; and (3) the differentiation between students' developmental stages as perceived by teachers vs. students' own self-perception, leading to tensions between necessary instructional adaptations and the risk of infantilization. The results illustrate that while feelings of inclusion can be fostered for BVI students in segregated PE by critically dismantling ableist norms of visual abilities, ableist notions can still persist in nuanced, subtle and implicit ways
Childhoods in Context
Inclusion Illusion: Questioning the Inclusiveness of Integrated Physical Education
Inclusion Understood From the Perspectives of Children With Disability
Thematic analysis.
The Politics of Ableism
Learning about ‘inclusive’ pedagogies through a special school placement
Contours of Ableism
“If only balls could talk…”
And after That Came Me”. Subjective Constructions of Social Hierarchy in Physical Education Classes among Youth with Visual Impairments in Germany
Barriers and Challenges for Visually Impaired Students in PE—An Interview Study with Students in Austria, Germany, and the USA
Engaging young people with disabilities in research about their experiences of physical education and sport
Independent or ungrateful? Consequences of confronting patronizing help for people with disabilities
Disabled children and young people in sport, physical activity and physical education
Messy methods
Being the body in question
Beyond spatial materiality, towards inter- and intra-subjectivity
Toward a Conceptual Understanding of Inclusion as Intersubjective Experiences
It's So Funny to Just Throw Off the Blind Girl” Subjective Experiences of Barriers in Physical Education With Visually Impaired Students—an Emancipatory Bad Practice Approach
Situated Knowledges
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |