Including Persons with Disability in Physical Activities

and Sports: European Perspective

Prof. Aija KĻAVIŅA, Ph.D. President-Elect, EUFAPA

Latvian Academy of Sport Education

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What are Adapted Physical Activities?

• Crossdisciplinary body of knowledge

• Activities or service delivery

• Profession

• Academic study program(Sherrill, 2004)

4

Multidisciplinary Networks

health

culture

science

medicine

APA

sport

technology

media

communication

management

recreation

education

rehabilitation

Adapted Physical Activity in Europe

• About 80 mil. (15%) persons with disability in EU• About 40% with limited mobility• Number of persons with disability in sport….?

• Sport should play a role in promoting gender equality and in the integration of people with disabilities.

• Specific criteria should be adopted for ensuring equal access to sport for all pupils, and specifically for children with disabilities.(White paper on Sport, 2007).

Inclusion in Physical Activities and Sport in Europe

• “..improvement of social inclusion and integration through sport using European programmes and resources.” (“White Paper in Sport”, EU Commission, 2007)

however

• ..a huge diversity of social, educational and health systems with different priorities, very much influenced by regional policies and by the strength of each individual member’s economy (Ferreira & Morgulec-Adamovicz, 2011)

Example: Hungary• The nationwide survey data collection:

– 5 surveys with 5 designated questionnaires: (n=8000)

– specific questionnaires for the sports organisations, socially disadvantageous and for the people with disabilities (n=1500).

Example: Hungary• EU-level key policy documents have been

issued in the field of sport: – Communication on the European Dimensions of Sport

in January 2011 – Work Plan on Sport for 2011-2014 and for 2014-2017

• National level implementation activities/measures have never been initiated. APA has not seen proper a proper development in participation sport in Hungary.

• APA/APE policy seems to be an inclusive, horizontal policy element, which is mentioned in nearly all other European dimensions of sport’ EU documents.

Opinion of the Committee of the Regions on ‘Disability, sport and leisure’

(57 comments) 15.04.2014. • ….participation rates are still too low.

• “…absence of any reference to people with disabilities in the European Commission's initial proposal for ERASMUS +..”

• “Need for extensive distinction between different scopes of sports for people with a disability that may refer to elite sports, leisure sports, physical education, education and training opportunities through sports, adapted physical activity, rehabilitation sports or sports activities with a specific therapeutic focus”.

Opinion of the Committee of the Regions: Sport Participation

• the improvement of accessibility

• parents play a major role in the empowerment of youngsters for sports participation, and that volunteers constitute the backbone of the sector

• the inclusion of people with a disability in sport should be the responsibility of the individual sports federation

Opinion of the Committee of the Regions: Education

• All pupils should have access to physical and sports education and that no disability should be a barrier to inclusion in school sport programmes.

• Promote changes in training for future PE teachers, enabling them to have a better understanding of the various health issues faced by their pupils

• Awareness-raising about elite sports performed by athletes with a disability is widely considered

Opinion of the Committee of the Regions: Health

• Recognises the specific relationship between adapted physical activities and rehabilitation for people with a disability;

• Underlines that adapted physical activity and sports as a therapeutic tool for people with a disability should be explicitly recognised and supported;

• All funding instruments under the new Multi-Annual Financial Framework should include the issue of accessibility for persons with disabilities.

EUROPEAN INITIATIVES IN APA

3rd BSSC, RIGA 2010

Former Initiatives in Europe• THENAPA (Thematic Network in Adapted Physical

Activity) 1999-2002• THENAPA II 2003-2007 (Aging and Disability)

• Sports participation for inclusion of persons with a disability in European Countries (2004-2006)

• Paralympic School Day

• Erasmus Mundus Master Degree in APA (EMMAPA), Leuven (Belgium)

• European Diploma in APA, (Vierumaki, Finland)(DEUAPA -- EUDAPA)

EUROPEAN CONGRESS IN APA (EUCAPA)• Brussels, Belgium, 1986• Leuven, Belgium, 1993• Leuven, Belgium, 1995• Thessaloniki, Greece,1998• Vienna, Austria, 2001• Amiens, France, 2002• Dortmund, Germany, 2004

• Olomouc, Czech Republic, 2006• Torino, Italy, 2008• Jyväskylä, Finland, 2010• Killarney, Ireland, 2012• Madrid, Spain, 2014• Olomouc, Czech Republic, 2016

Erasmus Mundus Master in Adapted Physical Activity(EMDAPA --- EMMAPA) since 1991

• Two year program (120 ECTS)• EMMAPA Master Consortium

– Catholic University of Leuven (K.U.Leuven), Belgium (coordinator)

– University of Limerick (UL), Ireland – Palacky University Olomouc (UP), Czech Republic– The Norwegian University of Sport and Physical

Education / Norwegian School of Sport Sciences (NUSPE/NSSS), Norway

– The University of Virginia (UV), USA– The University of Queensland (UQ), Australia – University of Stellenbosch University (US), South Africa

European Diploma in APA (DEUAPA --EUDAPA) since 2003

• The intensive 3 months (February - April 2011)• Vierumäki in Finland.• Language is English• 60 ECTS• 10 ects. Studies of APA at home university.• 30 ects. Intensive 3 months in Finland

at Haaga-Helia University of Applied Sciences.• 20 ects. APA-related 12 week work-training

in a foreign country.www.haaga-helia.fi/eudapa

Sports Participation for Inclusion of Persons with a Disability in European Countries

• http://www.adapt-europe.org• ONLINE PdF textbook COUNT ME IN (2004-2006)

Paralympic School Day

The IPC created a PSD kit containing a set of activities and background information, which can be used to educate children and youth about Paralympic sport, individual differences and disability issues in a fun and playful environment.

www.paralympic.org

EIPET PROJECT• Project (2007-2009) supported by the Leonardo da Vinci

fund through Léargas the National Agency for Ireland.

• The project aimed to tackle difficulties associated with the inclusion of people with disabilities into mainstream education; and associated current deficienciphysical education teacher training.es in initial and continued

•• To empower teacher training providers and PE teachers

with the knowledge, skills and competence to operate effectively in the work environment.

• To develop a resource pack to accompany the model and modules and make it available for download from the project website or available on CD.– EIPET FUNCTIONAL MAP– KNOWLEDGE COMPETENCE AND SKILLS FRAMEWORK

• www.eipet.eu

• Describe the professional competencies in each of the three areas of Adapted Physical Activities: – adapted physical education in schools – adapted sports and recreation– adapted physical activities in rehabilitation

• Identify the needs for each APA area in all partner counties;

• Define academic standards (subject specific competencies and learning outcomes) in the three areas of APA

• Develop international academic framework to guarantee the quality of professional preparations in the fields of APA at European level.

Questions!

Comments!

aija.klavina@gmail.com