Treffer: An Evaluation of Adapted Physical Activity/Education Cataloged Course Descriptions: Exploring Content, Disability Frameworks, and Course Benefits

This study examined undergraduate Adapted Physical Activity/Education course descriptions for content, disability frameworks, and course benefits. A total of 599 course descriptions from 590 universities in the United States were evaluated using content analysis. Notably, disability-related content, such as definitions, was most frequently referenced. Of concern, medical model terminology and nonpreferred disability language were prominent, and only a small proportion of course descriptions directly highlight the benefits of taking the courses, minimizing their potential to recruit students into the classroom. Findings may have general and discipline-specific implications for revising course descriptions, including the need to replace offensive language to accurately represent courses and the value of course enrollment. Recommendations for how disability services offices, university faculty, and academic departments can engage in these efforts, both independently and through creating collaborative partnerships, are discussed.

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