Training Leaders to Improve Education and Health Outcomes of Individuals with High-Intensity Needs: A Multi-Institution Mentorship Consortium Grant uri icon

abstract

  • East Carolina University, with collaboration from faculty from eight additional universities in the United States, is pleased to propose the project Training Leaders to Improve Education and Health Outcomes of Individuals served by IDEA: A Multi-Institution Mentorship Consortium. The overall purposes of this project are to support a leadership training Consortium to prepare well-trained doctoral-level leaders in adapted physical activity and create research-based collaborate culture to build capacity in the field of adapted physical education. APE is an often-overlooked yet vitally important area of special education. Physical education provides a means by which individuals engage in and learn about health-enhancing behaviors. In fact, physical education is the only subject within the public school curriculum specifically designed to develop motor skills and health-enhancing behaviors and promote regular physical activity for individuals with disabilities. IDEA recognized this significant contribution, which mandates that all children with disabilities receive physical education services. Indeed, since PL 94-142 was signed in 1975, physical education has been (a) the only academic subject matter directly mentioned in the statute, and (b) identified as an essential, direct service component of special education. Unfortunately, many physical educators report being inadequately prepared to educate individuals with disabilities in their classes, which can lead to instances where individuals with disabilities do not receive adequate educational experiences that facilitate regular participation in physical activity and the development of health-enhancing behaviors. Institutions of higher education play a critical role in preparing competent, highly qualified APE teachers for all students, including those with high-intensity needs. However, our data indicate that the number of leaders being trained to go into faculty positions in adapted physical education is significantly less than the number of position openings nationally. Adapted physical activity is an umbrella term describing physical activity practices for persons with disabilities, which includes school-based adapted physical education instruction as well as extracurricular and interscholastic activities. The proposed project supports a newly formulated Adapted Physical Activity Consortium, which is pleased to propose to train 28 high quality and competent scholars at the doctoral degree level at nine universities across the country, to serve as higher education faculty, and train pre-service physical education teachers and related service professionals to appropriately educate youth with disabilities, including those with high-intensity needs. This training will occur through coursework, practicum, a consortium-wide enrichment program, community-based service-learning programs, and research engagement. The faculty engaged in this Consortium are known leaders nationally and internationally in adapted physical activity, which places this project in an advantageous position to provide quality and essential doctoral-level training. Bringing together faculty from nine universities nationally, this project is innovative because it not only proposes to prepare leadership personnel but also to create a collaborative community to advance knowledge in adapted physical activity and systematically disseminate scholarly works derived from this project to build capacity within the field of adapted physical activity. Scholars in this proposal will benefit from a multi-dimensional preparation program, as well as the varying methodological and high-intensity needs (e.g., autism spectrum disorder, deafness) expertises' of engagement faculty.

date/time interval

  • October 2019 - September 2025

contributor