PERCEPTIONS OF KARATE COACHES TOWARDS THE INCLUSION OF ATHLETES WITH PHYSICAL DISABILITIES IN TRAINING SESSIONS

Para-karate is an adaptation of karate sport, including regulation changes so as to facilitate the participation of people with disabilities in karate competitions and to promote inclusion in training settings. The purpose of this study was to examine the attitudes of karate coaches toward the inclusion of people with physical disabilities in common training sessions with athletes without disabilities and to record the coaches’ perceived level of self-efficacy. The importance of this study relates to the lack of corresponding researches regarding the attitudes of coaches in this particular sport. The sample consisted of 68 karate Greek coaches, whereas measurement tools used included the Hammond et al. (2014) Questionnaire measuring coaches’ attitudes towards inclusion and the ‘Physical Education Teacher Efficacy’ questionnaire by Biddle and Goudas (1997). Results showed that karate coaches’ perceptions toward inclusion of participants with physical disabilities and self-efficacy were influenced by education level and relative knowledge of adapted physical activity, external influence of significant others and previous coaching experience either with individuals with disabilities or overall experience as coaches, whereas no differences were noted in terms of coaches’ gender, age and local region, in a country that para-karate is still at the stage of early development. Based on the findings, recommendations were made for future researches using a larger sample of karate coaches.<p> </p><p><strong> Article visualizations:</strong></p><p><img src="/-counters-/soc/0735/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /></p>