European perspectives in adapted physical activity

Summary

Adapted physical activity is a profession needed in Europe in the year 2011. There is growing social inclusion of people with disabilities and with their emancipation also growing participation in physical activity, sports and physical education. The education of professionals working in education, recreation and sport for persons with special needs should be a priority in all EU countries as competent professionals are essential to the inclusion and full participation of persons with disabilities (European Charter of Sport for all persons with disabilities, 2001). While the International Paralympic movement was initiated in Europe, where sport was considered an integral part of rehabilitation at Stoke Mandeville in United Kingdom, currently in most European countries coaches and instructors of various sports are usually not being prepared to include people with disabilities in their everyday practice. Adapted physical education must be built on the foundation of physical education teacher preparation (PETE) programmes and APA in sport or rehabilitation settings should be built on a foundation of sport coaching and leisure studies. EUFAPA should hope that in future APA specific competencies will become integral parts of PETE programmes and programmes for sport coaches and instructors at all levels in all sports. There is always a danger that inclusion related issues will be changed only “on paper” as a “political initiative” rather than a Professional approach. Therefore we must work: (a) on further developments and promotion of APA related competencies and standards; (b) changes in national legislation and practices, which would allow creation of job for qualified professionals and require certifications (accreditation) assuring their competencies; and (c) introduction of specialised studies at all levels of Professional preparations before APA competencies will be fully integrated in all professional preparations in the sport sector (Kudlacek, & Barrett, 2011).

Keywords: physical activity, adaptation, education, disabilities.

adapted physical activity paralympic

Adapted physical activity (APA) is a growing professional discipline across Europe. However, the education and practical application of APA services vary from country to country. The project European Standards in Adapted Physical Activity (EUSAPA) was initiated by the European Federation of Adapted Physical Activity. The objectives of the EUSAPA project was two folded: (1) to describe the professional competencies in adapted physical education in schools; in sport and in rehabilitation; and (2) to define specific competencies and learning outcomes in the three areas of APA. Adapted Physical Activity (APA) is a service delivery profession and academic field of study that supports an attitude of acceptance of individual differences, advocates enhancing access to active lifestyles and sport, and promotes innovation and cooperative service delivery and empowerment systems. APA includes, but is not limited to, physical education, sport, recreation, and rehabilitation of people with disabilities (EUFAPA, 2006). The European Federation in Adapted Physical Activity (EUFAPA) is a European organisation concerned with the promotion and dissemination of experiences, results and findings in the fields of adapted physical activity and sport science, and their practical application to the benefit of individuals across the life span. It has been shown that sport and physical activity in general can lead into the empowerment of those who have both acquired and congenital disabilities. As societal paradigm and attitudes toward persons with disabilities is changing, they are facing new challenges. All developed societies should be establishing support services and networks, which would aim towards greater acceptance, involvement and inclusion of persons with disabilities. These changes should not be only “paper based suggestions”, but the set of real initiatives. The education of professionals working in education, recreation and sport in both segregated and inclusive settings should be a priority in all EU countries as competent professionals (e.g. teachers, co aches, physiotherapists) are one of the keystones to inclusion (European Charter of Sport for all person with disabilities, 2001). In order to ensure this, there should be clear requirements on competencies that all specialists working in APA should acquire the competencies that should be transferred to general PE, sport and recreation specialists (Kudlacek, & Barrett, 2011).

The project “European Standards in Adapted Physical Activity” was is initiated by the EUFAPA. The aim of the project “European Standards in Adapted Physical Education” (EUSAPA) was two folded: (1) describe professional competencies in each of the three areas of Adapted Physical Activities (1 - adapted physical education, 2 - adapted sports and recreation, 3 - adapted physical activities in rehabilitation), and (2) to develop international academic framework to guarantee the quality of professional preparations in the fields of APA at European level. More than 30 APA professionals (e.g., university professors, sport coaches, physiotherapists etc.) from 10 European countries were involve in the project from 2008 -2010.

EUSAPA Outcomes on APA in Education

Physical education is a compulsory part of education in most European countries. However, most PE teachers do not feel competent to teach students with special education needs (SEN) in inclusive PE classes and in most cases there is absence (or lack of) support services and resources. For example, in central and Eastern Europe inclusion is less implemented than in the overall EU countries in average (32% as opposed to 45%). Also, facility provision for students with disabilities is a more acute problem in central and eastern Europe (60% of countries report deficiencies, whereas only 25% report deficiencies in Western Europe). Conversely, lack of staff expertise is perceived to be greater in Western Europe than in eastern European countries (Hardman, 2008). The EUSAPA project executive team developed interview guides to explore the situation regarding APE specialists in all project member countries. The interview guides included 14 questions on nature of job, professional responsibilities, advocacy, adaptations, and collaboration with other specialists. Because of time and financial constraints, data obtained from PE countries were collected in a frame of selected case studies and were not cross-national representative. The interview results revealed that the APE is not mandated in national legislations or regulations considering inclusive or special education. However, the data provided illustrative examples and indicated trends and tendencies to be used in formulating the functional map and knowledge, competence and skills framework for APE professionals. For example, in France the professional with a Bachelor degree in APA can lead physical activity sessions (not sport training sessions) aiming health maintenance, rehabilitation or integration for persons with motor or intellectual disabilities. In other countries such as Portugal, Poland, Latvia PE teachers working with students with SEN are required to attend in-service training on APA, or these teachers are with complementary formation on APA (at undergraduate or post-graduate level). While students with disabilities are included in general education with growing frequency across Europe, all partners indicated that there is lack of guidelines on functions, knowledge and skills of APE professionals working with school age students with SEN (Klavina, & Kudlacek, 2011). The analyses of the survey led to the development of the Functional Map that describes all the functions or activities that may be performed by APE professional working in education, training and human resource management, either directly or indirectly (as service, or resource/ consultation provider). The Functional Map both reflects current practice and anticipates the functions which may become more predominant in future when there will be need for APE specialists across Europe because of increased inclusions of students with disabilities in general education. While not all these functions will necessarily be performed in each school in every country, an individual school or teacher may select and perform a number of these functions according to their needs and possibilities. There are four key areas in the Functional Map of APE: (1) planning; (2) teaching; (3) evaluation; and (4) collaboration. Furthermore, 15 Key Roles and 38 Key Functions were elaborated in order to achieve particular key roles. The functional map provides a substantial framework of expected tasks that the APE professional will be responsible for (for more information see http://eusapa.upol.cz/ ).

After completing the Functional Map more detailed analysis was carried out to develop the Knowledge, Competence and Skills Framework (KCSF), which describes Performance Requirements for APE teacher/consultant. While the KCSF is not intended to be a description of the competencies required by each individual APE practitioner, this document indicates the core knowledge requirements essential for any APE team professional (e.g., PE teacher, APE teacher consultant, teacher assistant etc.). It is important to note that the KCSF tries to reflect the best practice of APE professionals, not just today, but over the next few years. For this reason, it is an evolving framework and can be updated to reflect the progress made in professional practice. The scope of the competences framework ranges from the preparation of the teaching environment through to application of teaching practice. The order of competences presentation does not indicate any chronological or functional order, or any order of importance, nor are any levels of competence indicated. Key competencies APE professionals should acquire can be divided in four areas focused on (1) preparation, (2) teaching, (3) evaluation, and (4) collaboration and life-long learning (for more information see http://eusapa.upol.cz/ ).

EUSAPA Outcomes on APA in Sport

The present situation of Adapted Physical Activity (APA) in Sport across Europe is deeply and clearly influenced by the idea of heterogeneity. Because APA is essentially focused on a service delivery profession and as an academic field of study, it is expected that the quality and availability of services in APA differs from one European country to another. Some countries offer good quality service delivery and training systems for professionals working with persons with disabilities, while other countries have well developed academic study programs in APA, but limited service delivery, and some other countries have neither service delivery nor study programmes (Ferreira, & Morgulec-Adamowicz, 2011). Four distinct groups of European countries could be identified based on the information collected during EUSAPA project:

(1) Countries where APA already exists as a profession, providing services in the three different areas of intervention (education, sport and rehabilitation) and the services provided are financed by the national educational, sport and health systems (e.g., Finland).

(2) Countries where APA exists as a profession in one of the three intervention areas and services on the other two are offered by other professionals with expertise in APA (e.g., Belgium, Czech Republic, France, Sweden).

(3) Countries where APA does not exist as an official profession but where APA services are provided for all the areas of intervention (education, sport and rehabilitation) by other professional with background in APA (P.E. teachers, coaches or physiotherapists) (e.g., Ireland, Latvia, Poland, Portugal, United Kingdom).

(4) Countries where APA does not exist as an official profession and where APA services are offered by none or poorly qualified professionals (volunteers).

EUSAPA project aimed to establish the major guidelines for key roles and key functions as well as knowledge, competences and skills framework for professionals working in disability sport/ APA coaching. These types of guidelines developed in the first stage of the project were general ones, applicable to both levels identified for professional purposes in the area of coaching (ENSSEE, 2007):

a) coach of participation-oriented sportspeople, i.e., coaches involved in leisure and non-formal competitive training as well as coaches involved in lower non-competitive development levels.

b) coach of performance-oriented athletes, i.e., coaches involved in formal talent orientation athletes/teams and high performance levels.

Functional Map of APA coach

The Key Purpose of APA coach is plan, develop, implement and evaluate adapted coaching programmes and sessions meant to guide improvement of individuals with disabilities/teams performing at a competitive or a high performance stage, or in participation-oriented (non-competitive) sports. To achieve the Key Purpose the five Key Areas (planning, management, coaching/instructing, monitoring, adapted sport development) EUSAPA project team developed 10 Key Roles and 35 Key Functions (for more information see http://eusapa.upol.cz/ ).

Furthermore, the Knowledge, Competence and Skills Framework (KCSF)in Sport was elaborated describing Performance Requirements for APA coach. In the present KCSF approach the performance requirements are based on the key roles from the functional map. According to recent changes in EU where coach education is part of the higher education sector (ENSSEE, 2007), the EUSAPA were prepared together with reviewed version of Erasmus Mundus Master in Adapted Physical Activity (EMMAPA), which now incorporates an introductory course on coaching. However, there is still an emerging doubt about the recognition of APA coach's qualifications (knowledge, skills and competences). It should be recommended that university-based APA coach education will be recognized by the relevant federation/organizations which are issuing the coaching licenses. Moreover, future recognition of APA coach vocational qualification has also to identify non-formal learning (e.g. volunteers in disability sport) and informal learning (e.g. family members of individuals with disability who get involved in disability sport). For more information on KCSF in APA sport sector see http://eusapa.upol.cz/.

EUSAPA Outcomes on APA in Rehabilitation

Rehabilitation is concerned with identifying and maximising quality of life and movement potential within the spheres of promotion, prevention, treatment/intervention, habilitation and rehabilitation. This encompasses physical, psychological, emotional, and social well-being. Rehabilitation therefore requires a multidisciplinary approach. Although rehabilitation across European countries has a number of similarities, the interpretation of rehabilitation with respect to programme content and programme environment is dependent of each country's policies and legislation. In the last decades, APA has been acknowledged as a valuable addition to the aforementioned disciplines within the rehabilitation programme. However, the purpose and evaluation, the setting and the character of the APA programmes is largely varying between the different cooperating European partner countries. The results of the EUSAPA project survey revealed that while in some countries APA is not included in the rehabilitation programme, other have optional adapted sports programs for patients/clients, and should therefore not be considered a significant part of the rehabilitation programme. In most countries the APA programme is not considered as a separate entity within the multidisciplinary character of rehabilitation. Overall, APA is mostly embedded within the physiotherapy programme, possibly due to the fact that there is no legislative nomenclature for the inclusion, and the application of an APA programme as a separate discipline in rehabilitation in any of the cooperating European partner countries. It can be concluded that although most countries have done many efforts to implement APA within the rehabilitation programmes, there are still a number of steps that can be taken with respect to the formation and legislative protection of therapists, instructors, specialists, and all those who are involved in the rehabilitation programmes, and the legislative structure and nomenclature of adapted physical activity as a fully acknowledged discipline in rehabilitation. The EUSAPA project team described the key activities associated with the APA programme implementation (Verellen, & Molik, 2011). These key activities include 4 major responsibilities: (1) planning; (2) information and education; (3) assessment and evaluation; and (4) implementation. For example, the APA programme coordinators need to realistically assess values, benefits and responsibilities of adapted physical activities within the multidisciplinary character of rehabilitation, taking into consideration the patient's/client's well-being both during and after the rehabilitation phase. This also demands a profound understanding of the patient's/client's condition, functional abilities and potential, and the impact of the APA programme here on. This includes the possible benefits as well as potential contraindications, health risks and risk factors to participate in physical activities. Furthermore, patients/ or clients need to be educated about the benefits of physical activities and sports, and the potential risks of a sedentary lifestyle on their well-being. Therefore, it is important for the APA programme coordinator to educate patients/clients about the consequences of an impairment or disorder on the patient's/client's functional potential, how the body responds to exercise, how to interpret these responses, how to recognise symptoms that contra-indicate physical activity and sport, and how to counteract or treat these symptoms. In order to guarantee a qualitative and successful APA programme outcome, evaluation of the quality of the programme is necessary. This requires a regular monitoring of the programme effect, and regular programme refinements in dialogue with the other discipline coordinators in the rehabilitation programme. The implementation of a successful APA programme also comprises optimal participation through the implementation of a wide variety of physical activities and sports in the programme, and through the adaptation of the instructions, encouragements, rules and settings when appropriate. Finally, it is recommended to organise part of the APA programme in a community based setting to ensure an active lifestyle after rehabilitation, to guarantee a maximal transfer of experience from athletes and hands-on experts to patients/clients in rehabilitation, and to optimise the patient's/client's reintegration process into society. For more information on APA in rehabilitation see http://eusapa.upol.cz/.

Mastering the aforementioned key activities to run a qualitative, safe and successful APA programme in rehabilitation requires the development of various competences interwoven within those key activities. These competences comprehend specific background knowledge in combination with a variety of skills, and can be subdivided in a number of therapeutic, pedagogical and management aspects. For example, therapeutic competences in APA are mainly associated with the characteristics of the target population, and the impact of physical activity and sports on the target population's potential and well-being. Coordinating an APA programme in rehabilitation demands a profound knowledge of the consequences of an impairment or disorder on the patient's/client's functional status and general well-being, and its consequences with respect to the patient's/client's response to physical activity and sports. Furthermore, pedagogical competencies in APA programmes mainly include skills regarding working with groups, teaching strategies, and principles of adapting physical activities and sports. Due to specific target population characteristics, the instructions, encouragements, rules and settings of the physical activity or sport often need adaptations to maximally motivate patients/clients, and ensure optimal and successful participation. Management competences present knowledge and skills of APA program coordinator in optimising the quality of both the APA programme and the entire rehabilitation programme as a whole. The APA coordinator needs to understand the multidisciplinary character of rehabilitation, and the content and relative contribution of the different disciplines within the programme. Also, he/or she needs to be able to offer the best suitable Adapted Physical Activity programme taking into consideration the various disciplines in rehabilitation, and the value of the relative contribution of the APA programme to the rehabilitation programme (Verellen, & Molik, 2011).

References

1. ENNSE (2007). Review of the EU 5-level structure for the qualification and recognition of coaching qualifications. Complied by the European Coaching Council, a sub-committee of the European Network of Sports Science, Education and Employment.

2. EUFAPA (2006). Bye-laws. Available at http://www.eufapa.eu/ index.php/eufapa/bylaws

3. European Charter of Sport for all persons with disabilities (2001).

4. Ferreira, J.P., & Adamowicz-Morgulec, N. (2011). Acedemic Standards for APA professionals in Sport: A Reflexive Approach in Europe. European Journal in Adapted Physical Activity, 4(2), 17-33.

5. Hardman, K. (2008). The situation of physical education in schools: A European perspective. Human Movement, 9(1), 5-18

6. Klavina, A., & Kudlacek, M. (2011).Physical Education for Students with Special Education Needs in Europe: Finding of the EUSAPA project. European Journal in Adapted Physical Activity, 4(2), 46-62.

7. Kudlacek, M., & Barrett, U. (2011). Adapted Physical Activity as Profession in Europe. European Journal in Adapted Physical Activity, 4(2), 7-16.

8. Verellen, J., & Molik, B. (2011). Adapted Physical Activity in Rehabilitation.

9. European Journal in Adapted Physical Activity, 4(2), 34-45.

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