Learning and enacting inclusive practices through signature pedagogies in physical education teacher education

Background The concept of inclusive education has evolved beyond the integration of students with special educational needs and disabilities into traditional school settings to encompass broader concerns related to equity and inclusion. This expanded focus acknowledges a significant body of research in physical education aimed at promoting equity and inclusion. Teachers play a central role in fostering inclusivity; however, physical education pre-service teachers (PSTs) often enter the field without adequate preparation to effectively address the diverse needs of their students. This study draws from conceptualisations of signature pedagogies (Hordvik and Beni 2024, “Signature Pedagogies of Teacher Education in Physical Education: A Scoping Review.” Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy 31 (3): 458–474; Shulman 2005, “Signature Pedagogies in the Professions.” Daedalus 134 (3): 52–59) for its guiding theoretical framework.Purpose This study explores how the enactment of signature pedagogies (digital storytelling as a [auto]biographical pedagogy, action research and professional learning community as pedagogies of professional learning), enabled PSTs to learn and enact inclusive practices within a physical education teacher education (PETE) programme and how teacher educators enacted and reflected on these pedagogies in supporting this learning process.Method This study was conducted in a four-year PETE programme in Turkiye with two teacher educators and 19 PSTs. The teacher educators enacted signature pedagogies in their courses: action research and professional learning communities as pedagogies of professional learning and digital storytelling as an (auto)biographical pedagogy. Data were collected through multiple qualitative methods, including focus group interviews with PSTs, non-participant observations, reflective diaries, teaching-learning artefacts, and audio recordings of teacher educator–critical friend meetings. Reflexive thematic analysis was employed to identify patterns across the data, with focus group interviews serving as the primary data source.Impact statement This study makes visible how signature pedagogies in PETE structure learning about inclusion across reflective, practical, and identity-related dimensions, while also illuminating the reciprocal role of teacher educators in enacting and sustaining these pedagogical processes.