The Problem of Nurturing Sustainable Inclusion within Team Sports in Physical Education

Abstract

Team sport games, as a deep-rooted facet of physical education, have been upheld throughout the history of this school subject area. The confining of teaching games instruction and assessment to isolated skills, as well as the selective pressure of competition, generate serious problems for dealing with the diversity and inclusion of all students in physical education classes. Framed using the Salamanca Declaration for inclusive education, the purpose of this paper is to contribute to the discussion on renewing and bettering the opportunities for accessing, participating, and learning team sports gameplay in physical education. DeLuca’s four conceptions of inclusion (normative, integrative, dialogical, and transgressive) constitute the analytical framework adopted to support the discussion about the game-based models’ learning goals, strategies, and the ways to contribute to dealing with students’ diversity and inclusion. The discussion breaks new ground by emphasizing dialogical and transgressive inclusion in teaching games in physical education advocating for co-regulation and team regulation through active co-construction by students and teachers. These efforts ultimately aim to cultivate more inclusive and equitable physical education learning environments, fostering a sustainable and socially just society.