SPORTS-BASED INTERVENTION AS A TOOL FOR SOCIAL INCLUSION?

There is international enthusiasm for the idea that sport can contribute towards social inclusion for students with special needs. Research has shown that students with special needs with the best social and emotional development are those who take part in sports. Sport now features in various targeted inclusion initiatives, including ‘the Buddy Club’: a sports-based intervention tool currently operating in 10 special education integrated program schools in Malaysia. The processes through which this ‘sports-based intervention’ might promote social inclusion require, however, further investigation. There is relatively little systemic ‘hard’ research into the efficacy of sports-based interventions in contributing to social inclusion of students with special needs. Drawing on teachers’ perception on the relationship between sports as an intervention tool and social inclusion for students with SEN, the article critically analyses this ‘sports-based intervention’ initiative with reference to three main themes: ‘its co-curriculum’, ‘its influence’ and ‘its benefits’ towards the development of social inclusion of students with SEN in three themes: ‘students’ friendship’, ‘students’ interaction’ and ‘students’ acceptance by classmates’. This study adopted a quantitative research design, where data were collected from teachers that comprised of questionnaires. Results showed that teachers rated highest equally on the influence and benefits of the buddy club and rated highest on students’ acceptance by classmates. The relationship between the effectiveness of the buddy club and students’ social inclusion was significant. A significant regression equation was found where the effectiveness of the buddy club contributes to 16.1% of the change in students’ level of social inclusion. This article draws upon recent empirical evidence about social inclusion development among students with special educational needs and their typically developing peers thus potentially providing an important link for Malaysia’s goal towards 75% of students with special needs enrolled in inclusive education programs by 2025