Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2022

DOI

10.3390/ijerph19020841

Publication Title

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health

Volume

19

Issue

2

Pages

841 (1-13)

Abstract

Research has shown that the practicum experience for professional preparation students in physical education teacher education programs related to teaching youth with disabilities can improve self-efficacy. It is not currently known if a virtual program can be effective for the professional preparation students or the participants. The objective of this study was to determine the experiences of the participants of a three-month virtual practicum program. In this phenomenological study, thirty youth with visual impairments and 1:1 professional preparation students (coaches) took part in a three-month virtual physical activity program. A total of 11 coaches took part in 2 focus groups, and 10 of the participants were interviewed about their experiences in this unique practicum. Findings in this three-month program revealed four themes: (1) friendship, (2) self-determination, (3) goal setting, and (4) barriers. The results of the qualitative inquiry indicate that a virtual practicum program can have a positive effect on both the participants and the professional preparation students. Virtual programs should also be aware of barriers to implementing an effective program to benefit all parties.

Comments

© 2022 by the authors.

This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license.

Original Publication Citation

Lieberman, L. J., Ball, L., Beach, P., & Perreault, M. (2022). A qualitative inquiry of a three-month virtual practicum program on youth with visual impairments and their coaches. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(2), 1-13. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19020841

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