Teachers' Attitudes Towards Inclusion in Physical Education: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Studies Conducted Before and After the Salamanca Statement

The case for inclusion of students with disabilities and special educational needs (SEND) in mainstream physical education (PE) classes has increased over the last four decades. This is because PE has been consistently reported as a key whole-child context for promoting the inclusion of SEND students; though, research still shows that teachers’ attitudes are still proximal factors constraining the inclusion of achievement of inclusion goals. This study aims to quantitatively investigate the association between macro-level policy intervention, the Salamanca Statement, and teachers’ attitudes. A systematic search of the literature was conducted in April 2022, and 2,120 records were retrieved. Sixteen articles that surveyed teachers’ attitudes using validated instruments were included in the meta-analysis. Results showed that the cross-study means for teachers’ attitudes in studies published after the Salamanca Statement were more positive than the corresponding means from studies published before the publication of the Salamanca Statement. The findings provided in this study are also framed within the context of m¬icro- and macro-level change, and implications for future research and practices are further discussed.