Ethnographic study based on pictures and words in a physical education service-learning programme with young students with disabilities and their families

Abstract

This article describes the development and results of an ethnographic study carried out within the context of a Service-Learning (SL) programme for initial teacher education as part of the Bachelor’s Degree in Physical Activity and Sport Sciences. Its main objective is to discover how participation in this programme was experienced by the different actors involved and what it meant for them. The main focus is placed on the group at risk of exclusion (young people with disabilities and their families) in order to make their needs visible and outline programmes for future editions. However, the learnings and experiences of future teachers are also analysed through the prism of a pedagogy of metamorphosis, as the relationship between the two groups is seen as one of reciprocity. 34 photographs, 36 semi-structured interviews, a field journal and the reflections of the future teachers were used to analyse the most significant aspects of the process and extract the central themes on which the results were built. The results are presented as a crisscrossing network of findings that collects the themes shared by the different agents (future teachers, SEC pupils and families), such as the learnings for each group involved, participation and socialization, as well as specific results for each of the groups (identification of needs, leisure, relationships, etc.). The main conclusion is that this type of project is crucial for improving the conditions of disadvantaged groups such as young people with disabilities, but also for promoting the professional and personal growth of future teachers.