Critical pedagogies for community building: challenging ableism in higher education physical education in the United States

Enacting critical pedagogies within physical education (PE) contexts have been found to increase critical consciousness and disrupt hegemonic taken-for-granted assumptions about ability and the body. As an under-researched area, the aim of our research was to explore the extent to which a critical pedagogical approach in PE can disrupt normative ableist notions of disability through a disability-specific, critically orientated, tennis class. Six students from a large southeastern US university chose to participate and student video narratives and reflective essays were collated as data sources. Through inductive and deductive data analysis, the key themes constructed were: (1) 'the learning journey in critical education', underpinned by the following subthemes: (i) 'initial shock', (ii) 'new experiences', and (iii) 'humbling encounters'; and (2) 'consequences of critical pedagogy', supported by (a) 'building a community through meaningful relationships', and (b) 'change in perspective'. We conclude by discussing the pedagogical potential of our critical approach.