ADAPTED PHYSICAL EDUCATION IN SPECIAL NEED EDUCATION: THE WAY FORWARD

Abstract

Physical education is very important to the well-being and education of a
child. Physical education is an important academic subject that provides students
with planned, sequential, curricula and instruction designed to develop motor
skills, knowledge, and behaviours for active living, physical fitness,
sportsmanship, and emotional intelligence (Society of Health and their physical
educators (SHAPE, America), 2013). The primary goal of physical education is to
develop a physically literate individual. Physical literacy means the ability to move
with competence and confidence in a wide variety of physical activities in multiple
environments that benefit the healthy development of a whole person (Adeniji,
2007). It is therefore important for the schools and the teachers in these schools to
focus on the holistic development of the students. A holistic student approach
emphasizes a variety of teaching styles, developing students’ socioemotional
intelligence and identities and building a sense of belonging in the school. Ajibua
and Momoh (2009) in SHAPE America (2013) stated that physical education has a
primary purpose of developing physically literate students and supported that the
holistic development of students addresses three crucial learning domains within
the physical education curriculum, cognitive or mental skills related to the
knowledge of movement, affective, which address growth in feelings or attitude
and psychomotor which relates to the manual or physical skills. Physical education
can be seen as a subject that can develop the physical, mental and cognitive
capability of the school children including the Special Needs Children (SNC).