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The purpose was to develop a model to guide assessment for physical education planning for integration and inclusion at the school district level. A secondary goal was to determine if teachers’ gender, age, education, and experience of teaching children with special needs are associated with beliefs about barriers to integration. To test the model, data were collected from physical education specialists and classroom teachers in central Finland. The survey instruments were three scales: (a) Awareness of Individual Differences Survey, (b) Survey of Adapted Physical Education Needs–Finnish modification (SAPEN-F), and (c) Teacher Beliefs About Physical Education Integration Scale. Results indicated that Finnish teachers know they have students with special needs. PE specialists and classroom teachers share many common beliefs about priority needs. Teachers believe that the most important barrier that hinders physical education integration is attitude. The model described herein worked in Finland and is ready for further testing by other countries.

The purpose of this research was to develop and test an adapted physical education consultant model to assist regular elementary school classroom teachers to include children with special needs into regular physical education. The consultation model consisted of (a) Level 1, conducting a needs assessment, (b) Level 2, designing/implementing the program, and (c) Level 3, evaluating the program. The model was tested in two communities in Finland using the intensive and the limited consulting approaches. Data collection methods included videotaped observations of teacher and students, interviews, dialogue at interdisciplinary team meetings, and journals. Results are presented as case studies, which describe the process and product over a 2-month period of model implementation. Analysis of data indicate that classroom teachers, paraprofessionals, and students benefited from the consultant model. The adapted physical education consultant model appears to be a viable approach in facilitating the integration of children with special needs.