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The Rebound: A Wheelchair Basketball Story
Cathy McKay
Fidelity Criteria Development: Aligning Paralympic School Day With Contact Theory
Cathy McKay, Jung Yeon Park, and Martin Block
The purpose of this study was to address contact theory as the theoretical basis of the Paralympic School Day (PSD) disability awareness program using a newly created fidelity of implementation instrument (fidelity criteria) to measure a single construct (contact theory), seeking to control and explain the manner in which PSD satisfied the four components of contact theory. Participants were 145 sixth-grade students who took part in PSD. Results determined that the PSD intervention supported the four theoretical components of contact theory, with statistically significant differences in student responses across all four indicators (p < .001). In addition, results determined that the fidelity criteria had strong test–retest reliability with internal consistency that was strong across time points (r = .829; p < .001). Results also determined that the four indicators of the instrument measured a single construct (one indicator significant at the p ≤ .01 level and three indicators significant at the p ≤ .001 level), thus, determining strong construct validity.
The Impact of Paralympic School Day on Student Attitudes Toward Inclusion in Physical Education
Cathy McKay, Martin Block, and Jung Yeon Park
The purpose of this study was to determine if Paralympic School Day (PSD), a published disability awareness program, would have a positive impact on the attitudes of students without disabilities toward the inclusion of students with disabilities in physical education classes. Participants were 143 sixth-grade students who were divided into 2 groups (experimental n = 71, control n = 72), with the experimental group receiving the PSD treatment. Participants responded 2 times to Siperstein’s Adjective Checklist and Block’s Children’s Attitudes Toward Integrated Physical Education–Revised (CAIPE-R) questionnaire. Four ANCOVA tests were conducted. Results indicated a significant PSD treatment effect across all 4 measures: Adjective Checklist (p = .046, η2 = .03), CAIPE-R (p = .002, η2 = .04), inclusion subscale (p = .001, η2 = .05), and sport-modification subscale (p = .027, η2 = .02).
“I Thought It Was Going to Be Trash”: Rural High School Students’ Disability-Related Perception Change Following Paralympic School Day
Cathy McKay, T.N. Kirk, and Marie Leake
Purpose: The purpose of this study was to describe and understand the experiences and impact of the Paralympic School Day program on disability-related perceptions of rural high school students. Methods: Ninth- and tenth-grade physical education classes from a rural high school participated in the Paralympic School Day event. Of the 68 who attended the event, 42 students furnished assent and consent to participate. Data from reflective writing responses were analyzed inductively using a three-step approach. Findings: The analysis revealed three interrelated themes: (a) “I didn’t expect it to be fun”: preconceptions and reality of trying parasport, (b) “Anyone can play a sport”: developing new perceptions of disability, and (c) “I never realized how blessed I was”: persistence of ableist framing. Discussion: As a result of participants interacting with and learning from athletes with physical disabilities, they developed an understanding of parasport and a new paradigm through which to view individuals with disabilities.
Physical Educators’ Attitudes Toward Teaching Students With Disabilities After a Paralympic School Day Professional Development Program
Marie Leake, Martin E. Block, Abby Fines, and Cathy McKay
Purpose: This study aimed to examine physical educators’ attitudes toward teaching students with disabilities in general physical education after participating in a Paralympic School Day professional development program. Methods: Elementary through high school physical education teachers participated in a Paralympic School Day professional development program. Data from focus groups and written reflections were analyzed deductively and inductively using a three-step approach. Results: The analysis revealed five interrelated themes: (a) “you’re trying to accommodate everyone, and so it’s hard”; (b) “putting yourself in other people’s shoes”; (c) “I definitely want to use these ideas”; (d) “It made me think about all of my students”; and (e) “not talking is the hurtful action.” Discussion: Following the Paralympic School Day professional development program, physical educators described a shift in attitudes characterized by a desire to implement inclusive teaching practices and an enhanced focus on promoting conversations with individuals with disabilities.
“Now We Can Speak”: Wheelchair Sport Participation in Areas of Armed Conflict
T.N. Kirk, Cathy McKay, and Katherine Holland
This study sought to understand the lived experiences of wheelchair basketball athletes from low- and middle-income countries of recent or current armed conflict and the meaning that they ascribed to their participation. Wheelchair basketball athletes (N = 108) from eight national teams participated in semistructured focus-group interviews. Study data were analyzed thematically using an interpretive descriptive approach. Three themes were developed: “I can do anything I want; not only basketball,” self-concept changes through sport participation; “Now they see me as a respectable person,” societal belonging through sport; and “I have motivated other disabled people,” influence on nonparticipating disabled persons. The findings indicated that participation in wheelchair sports may help disabled persons see themselves as capable individuals on the court and in aspects of daily living, perhaps even peer role models for other disabled persons in their communities and countries.