“The mighty six”: Drawing on children’s participation rights to (re)imagine physical education and physical activity experiences with autistic students
Background: According to Article 12 of the UNCRC, every child has the right to express their views and to have these views given due weight in matters affecting them.
Aim: Adopting a rights-based approach, this research invited autistic students to share and shape their physical education (PE) and physical activity (PA) experiences. The aim was to design, with the students, a five-week PA program that could be implemented within the PE curriculum or as a lunchtime club.
Method/approach: This study employed observations, walking interviews, LEGO®, and sticky notes, for autistic children to share their PE experiences and favourite ways of being physically active, and decide the activities they wished to engage in. Participants were 24 autistic students aged 7–13 years, from specialist provisions within two Scottish mainstream primary schools. Following written consent from parents/carers, a study information booklet provided picture-based information to students to support assent. However, assent was not approached as a one-off agreement but as an ongoing process.
Results/findings: The findings suggest that the flexible, multimodal methodological approach facilitated students’ involvement in decisions that shaped their PE and PA experiences. In designing PA programs responsive to their interests, strengths, and needs, the students challenged normative understandings of PE, shared their sensory experiences of movement, and highlighted the importance of friendships as a source of motivation.
Conclusion: This study shows how children, as experts in their own lives, can illuminate a kaleidoscope of opportunities to make PE participation and PA engagement enjoyable, sparking reflection on how children’s participation rights can be translated into everyday educational practice for creating meaningful and inclusive school experiences for all students.
Implications for children and families: You can be physically active in ways that feel right for you, reflecting your interests, strengths, and needs.
Implications for practitioners: You can foster autistic students’ participation in physical education and physical activity by creating meaningful opportunities for them to share their interests, strengths, and needs, and shape their learning
Funding: This work was supported by the UK Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) (ES/P000681/1).
Keywords: Article 12 UNCRC, autistic students’ voices, Lundy’s model, co-design, physical education, physical activity
This presentation relates to the following United Nations Sustainable Development Goals: