Impacts of Teachers’ Pedagogical Approach on the Inclusion of Adolescents with Exceed Weight into Physical Education and Sports in Emirate of Ajman/United Arab Emirates

Background. Physical Education and Sports (PES) is essential to the student’s overall education. It has physical, affective, psychological, and social repercussions. Overweight adolescents are sometimes underestimated based on their lower physical performance and suffer from discriminatory attitudes by their peers and their physical education teachers. Objectives. This study aimed to investigate the impacts of teacher pedagogy and overweight or obesity on the inclusion of obese students in classrooms and to understand how PES teachers adapt their pedagogical interventions toward this category. Methods. A sample of 48 overweight or obese students and 20 teachers were approached from different schools in Ajman Emirate. Two questionnaires for obese students and PES teachers were used to collect the data. Results. According to the data collected through the questionnaire, 85.42% of obese students report that they rarely practice or do not practice physical activity outside of school, and 73.42% go to school by bus or car. In addition, 66.7% of the surveyed students said being overweight is a barrier to PSE practice. Similarly, 75% of the surveyed teachers said that obese students are not integrated with the PES course, but only 55% of teachers reported that the obese student became an obstacle in PES sessions, while 80% of teachers reported that obese or overweight students were marginalized by their colleagues. Conclusion. Our study confirmed an urgent need for effective teaching strategies/ pedagogies to include overweight or obese students in physical education engagement and learning.