Identifying Curriculum Related Needs for Adapted Physical Education

The adapted physical education (ADPE) field lacks resources for developing lesson plans and teaching strategies. ADPE needs curriculum related resources in order to organize learning objectives that focus on a systematic approach for goal achievement. The purpose of this qualitative project study was to find out how the draft best practices manual impacts ADPE teachers from one school district in a southern US state. The focus was on teachers' reactions to curriculum interrelated components such as a curriculum guide, learning objectives, lessons, teaching strategies, and skill assessments. The conceptual framework that structured this project study was participatory action research. A case study approach was used and included data collection from interviews and documents. The data were transcribed, coded, and compared for authentication by using member checking. The research questions defined the participants' responses. An analysis of the responses showed that they value the best practices manual and view it as a positive step toward comprehensive ADPE resources. In addition, the findings indicated that participants felt that the biggest drawback of the project was that they still desired more strategies and lessons to use in ADPE. This study provides an overall impact on social change for teachers by providing curriculum resources that align lessons, inspire communication among teachers, and provide multiple avenues that support student achievement.