ABSTRACT
This chapter is a responsive reflection on the failures of Physical Education Teacher Education (PETE) that privileges a curriculum shaped by normative values and ableist underpinnings. The fallout of these perspectives within our respective countries of Germany and the United States continues to be controversial with consequential outcomes for disabled students implementing inclusive education. Adapted Physical Education (APE) and PETE may unwittingly be contributors to the negative experiences of students through the manifestation of ableist discourses that make it untenable for teachers to create and enact equitable practices. This lack of critical discourse within PETE and APE to help prospective teachers reconceptualize difference is evident in the variability of teaching practices where some teachers are able to work with diverse students and others are not. As faculty in higher education in each of the respective disciplines, we need to interrogate our continued dependence on the dis/ability-based segregation and our rationale for specialized educational conditions. We close by providing guidance on curricular practice and course content within PETE programmes that will facilitate a critical inquiry in the meaning of disability in supporting teachers’ engagement addressing diverse students’ needs and abilities.
