Physical education teachers' experiences regarding online physical education lessons for children with autism spectrum disorder

• Published in: International journal of developmental disabilities Vol. ahead-of-print; no. ahead-of-print; pp. 1 - 10
• Main Authors: Yılmaz, Sevim Handan, Yarımkaya, Erkan, İlhan, Ekrem Levent
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Taylor & Francis 2024; Maney Publishing, Hudson Road
• Subjects: Autistic children; COVID-19; disability; Distance learning; Family support; Interviews; Pandemics; Physical education; physical education teachers; remote education; Teachers; Teaching; COVID-19; remote education; physical education teachers; disability
• ISSN: 2047-3869; 2047-3877; 2047-3877
• DOI: 10.1080/20473869.2022.2123198

Background: The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate the experiences of physical education (PE) teachers regarding online PE lessons for children with ASD during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Method: Participants in this study were 16 PE teachers who took part in one-on-one semi-structured phone interviews. Interview data were analyzed using Braun and Clarke's recipe for thematic analysis.
Result: Four overarching themes were found: (1) we were unprepared for online lessons, (2) challenges of online lessons, (3) parental support, and (4) solution offers.
Conclusion: The results revealed that PE teachers were unprepared for the sudden transition to online lessons due to the COVID-19 pandemic. PE teachers started the online teaching with parent support despite the challenges, but they were not satisfied with the online PE model.