Date of Award

Spring 2026

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Human Movement Studies & Special Education

Program/Concentration

Human Movement Sciences

Committee Director

Dr. Silvana Watson

Committee Member

Dr. Ruth Osorio

Committee Member

Dr. Xihe Zhu

Committee Member

Dr. Amaury Samalot-Rivera

Abstract

Although students with visual impairments (VI) are increasingly placed in integrated physical education (PE) classes (U.S. Department of Education, 2023), the embodied experiences of those who also identify as multilingual learners (MLs) and as Hispanics remain largely unexplored. This retrospective qualitative study examined how these students experience integrated PE during their K-12 education, focusing on how language and disability identities shaped their participation. Participants included seven Hispanic students, all MLs, and identified under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) as blind or visually impaired. At the time of the study, participants were between 18 and 33 years old and reflected on their K-12 PE experiences. An interpretative phenomenological approach (IPA) guided the research. Data were collected through semi-structured, audio-recorded interviews (i.e., phone, FaceTime, and Zoom), along with reflective notes. Based on the analysis, two interrelated themes were constructed: (1) “What matters the most is how the person feels included”: Sense of belonging; and (2) “When you are blind, and you don’t speak the language, you are lost”: Accessibility. Findings revealed that participants navigated a state of “double silencing” where ocular-centric pedagogy and English-only instruction converged to create total exclusion. Participants described belonging as a relational state dependent on culturally and linguistically responsive teaching that validated their dual identities.

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DOI

https://doi.org/10.25777/kzr0-0368

ISBN

9798197809988

ORCID

0009-0009-8046-0421

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