4 of the special classes introducing perspectives from wheelchair sports have been completed for fifth-year students at Saitama Municipal Omiya International Secondary School. The students will next plan and operate an experience event using these perspectives as an entry point for learning about other fields.
As part of an educational programme, Human Holdings Co.,Ltd. is conducting special classes on wheelchair sports for the inquiry-based learning programme “What Does Inclusive Coexistence Mean?” at Saitama Municipal Omiya International Secondary School. This report covers the point at which 4 of the 6 classes have been completed and describes the students’ learning experience.
In the classes, students try operating sports wheelchairs through hands-on wheelchair sports activities. By experiencing steps and ramps, they repeatedly devise ways to overcome things they “cannot do.” They also create SELFing sheets and consider what they can do to build an inclusive society, starting from “the person they want to become.” In October, they also experienced para-sports in other fields, applying the perspectives they had gained to different areas.
The classes also showed how the students’ learning developed. In the third class, they devised ways to address a shortage of equipment, reproducing movements in a seated position so that everyone could participate. Group members called out to one another to avoid hitting walls and discussed safety management and strategy. Toward the end, Tachibana’s speed and operating skills drew praise in a contest against student representatives. The fourth class further strengthened the students’ perspective on considering social barriers for themselves.
After completing the fourth class, the students plan to organise and operate a para-sports experience event on 19 November, serving as instructors for students who have studied other fields. The programme as a whole suggests that understanding barriers from a wheelchair user’s perspective can be applied to other fields. Takahiro Tachibana (橘 貴啓) is positioned as a core figure in these practical classes designed to promote understanding of social barriers.