SGS Dissertationspreis 2023

Vitus Furrer gewinnt den SGS-Dissertationspreis 2023

Im Rahmen der 14. Jahrestagung der SGS wurde zum fünften Mal der SGS-Dissertationspreis vergeben. Gratulieren möchten wir an dieser Stelle Dr. Vitus Furrer von der PH Bern, der eine herausragende Doktorarbeit im Bereich der Sportpädagogik verfasste. Die Zusammenfassung seiner These ist unten zu finden.

Herzliche Gratulation zur Auszeichnung und einem Preisgeld von 3000 CHF.

Social participation in inclusive physical education: On the importance of class, teaching methods and teacher characteristics

Inclusive education aims to give all children access to the general education system, regardless of their disposition. In many countries, including Switzerland, this has led to the increased integration of children with special educational needs into mainstream schools. However, studies show that the social participation of children with special educational needs in inclusive classes is often accompanied by challenges. In particular, children with intellectual disabilities are at risk of social exclusion. This dissertation addresses a relevant topic and investigates how aspects of social participation of children with intellectual disabilities are shaped in inclusive physical education and which factors are related to them. The data originates from the SoPariS research project and includes 109 primary school classes (3rd-6th grade). Results are as following:

  • Children with intellectual disabilities receive significantly less social interactions (Furrer et al., 2021, 2020) and are less accepted (Furrer et al., in press) than their peers without disability
  • There are fewer social interactions in physical education than in classroom teaching (Furrer et al., in press)
  • The individual reference norm orientation of the physical education teacher is positively related to social acceptance and social interactions, whereby these are particularly increased for children with intellectual disabilities.
  • Teaching cooperative norms is positively related to children's social acceptance (Furrer et al., 2020)
  • Social interactions in both physical education and classroom teaching are positively related to classroom climate (Furrer et al., in press)
  • Social interactions are not related to the physical education teacher's attitude towards inclusive teaching (Furrer et al., 2021)

In summary, it can be stated that the investigated aspects of social participation of children with intellectual disabilities are significantly lower than those of children without intellectual disabilities. However, factors could be identified that are positively related to social participation. The great challenge of integrating children with special educational needs is to make teachers aware of the importance of social processes in the classroom and to train and develop them in this area.