| While some school districts offer direct adapted physical education (APE) for students who are unable to participate successfully in the general physical education (GPE) setting, other districts opt to provide only consultation to the general physical education teacher, with the expectation that the students' needs will be met in the general setting. The purpose of this study is to determine what effect the type of APE service delivery model has on GPE teachers' efficacy when working with students with disabilities. The three models of APE service delivery chosen for the study are (a) consultation, (b) itinerant, and (c) collaborative. The participants in the study were 102 general physical education teachers who teach in a south Texas urban district, and currently work with students with disabilities in the GPE class. The participants were administered an efficacy questionnaire measuring demographic information and perceived teacher efficacy in each model defined. Results indicated that there were significant differences between levels of service, Consult (F (3,98) = 5.09, p = .003), Itinerant (F (3, 97) = 10.80, p = .000), Collaborative (F (3,98) = 13.64, p = .001). As well, the results indicated that the collaborative method produced the highest level of efficacy in the participants (F (2,200) = 16.09, p = .001). The study indicated that the collaborative model of APE service support might be the most effective in increasing GPE teacher efficacy when working with children with disabilities. |
