Adapting teaching materials for inclusive physical education: pre-service teachers’ experiences with students with mild intellectual disabilities

Abstract

Inclusive teaching has received increasing attention in physical education teacher education (PETE), yet pre-service physical education teachers (PSTs) have limited opportunities to develop and adapt instructional materials in practice. This study examined PSTs’ experiences developing, adapting, and implementing teaching materials for students with mild intellectual disabilities (MID). Fourteen PSTs (5 female, 9 male; aged 21–24 years; M(age) = 22.14, SD = 0.86) participated in a 10-week, structured, practice-based programme focused on material development and adaptation. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, written reflections, and field notes, and analysed using thematic analysis. Five themes emerged: (I) experiences of using and adapting materials, (II) types of materials, (III) pedagogical support resources, (IV) perceived contributions to learning and participation, and (V) professional development. The findings showed that PSTs adapted materials to students’ characteristics and instructional objectives, used diverse resources, perceived adaptations as supporting participation and interest, and reported developing material adaptation skills and pedagogical creativity. In conclusion, these practice-based experiences provide PSTs with valuable experiential learning opportunities to develop their abilities to select, develop, and adapt materials responsive to students’ needs. This study highlights the importance of integrating more systematic and practice-oriented material adaptation experiences into PETE programmes.