ERIC Number: EJ1413613
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2024
Pages: 7
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0273-5024
EISSN: EISSN-1543-2769
Available Date: N/A
The Ableist Underpinning of Normative Motor Assessments in Adapted Physical Education
Journal of Teaching in Physical Education, v43 n1 p72-78 2024
Background: Normative motor skill assessments occupy a privileged position in physical education scholarship and practice. So much so, in fact, they manifest as commonsense cultural arrangements in most movement contexts, including adapted physical education. The proliferation of such tools has generally been uncontested, until now. Purpose: We argue that normative motor skill assessments have ableist underpinnings and consequently may do more to subordinate, rather than empower disabled children. More specifically, we suggest that normative motor assessment tools and criteria, perhaps unintentionally, highlight what is perceived to be wrong, bad, and faulty about the ways disabled bodies look and move, thus reinforcing ableist norms and values relating to ability. Conclusions: We end by encouraging adapted physical education scholars and practitioners to critically reflect on ableist notions of ability, particularly as they relate to movement competence, and to work with disabled children because of their embodied experiences to co-design assessments that are more meaningful to disabled children.
Descriptors: Psychomotor Skills, Adapted Physical Education, Attitudes toward Disabilities, Students with Disabilities, Social Bias, Negative Attitudes, Ability, Student Evaluation, Motor Development, Norm Referenced Tests
Human Kinetics, Inc. 1607 North Market Street, Champaign, IL 61820. Tel: 800-474-4457; Fax: 217-351-1549; e-mail: info@hkusa.com; Web site: http://journals.humankinetics.com/journal/jtpe
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Assessments and Surveys: Test of Gross Motor Development
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A