Abstract

In England, 18% of school pupils (Long and Roberts, 2025) are identified as having Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) whereas data on the numbers of disabled teachers is limited and only estimated at 0.5% (DfE, 2018; Ware et al., 2022). The majority of physical education (PE) teachers appear ‘able-bodied’, which may indicate underrepresentation of teachers with SEND entering the field. Historically, enrolment on a PE teacher training course was conditional upon the student demonstrating sports skills. Similarly, the enduring stereotype of a PE teacher as the epitome of health and fitness appears to exclude people with a disability (e.g. Bryant and Curtner-Smith, 2009; González-Calvo and Varea, 2023). Despite improvements of in-house SEND training and awareness, the lack of in-service and pre-service PE teachers with SEND suggests that this historical perspective persists. It is argued that with societal and educational changes towards disabilities, the stereotype of a PE teacher needs to become more inclusive. This chapter focuses on three areas: (1) an exploration of the historical and cultural formation of the perfect body ideology, (2) personal narratives of two disabled Higher Education lecturers and a non-disabled colleague deconstructing disability stereotypes in PE Initial Teacher Training (ITT), and (3) a discussion of ITT students’ impact upon the barriers and facilitators for future disabled PE teachers. Furthermore, through the lens of critical pedagogies it aims to highlight the ‘PE teacher role model: pupil’ privilege power dynamic with student teachers as agents of change in challenging disability misconceptions within PE.