A Social Constructionist Perspective of Teaching and Learning in Inclusive Physical Education

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine an inclusive, third grade physical education class containing a child with severe cerebral palsy and a visual impairment from a social constructionist perspective. Data were collected from four primary sources over a six-month period: interviews, observations, document review, and journals. Boyzaitis’s (1998) five-step process was utilized in the data analysis, which uncovered three primary themes: the teacher’s belief in the development of social skills for students with and without disabilities, the teacher’s use of purposeful strategies to accommodate students with disabilities, and student learning shaped by personal experience. Student and teacher experiences were interpreted within the conceptual framework of social construction as a means of describing relevant and meaningful relationships.