Keeping it real… Using realist tales to understand Special Educational Needs and Disability in physical education.

Abstract

Realist tales are one of the most common forms of communicating qualitative research, but they are conspicuous by their absence in research on Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) in Physical Education (PE). Characterised by four main tenets, traditional realist tales are written in such a manner to give an authoritative account of social reality that arguably misaligns with approaches to representing the lived PE experiences of young people with SEND. The chapter presents and critiques a realist tale written to shed light on the lived realities of D/deaf pupils in PE and concludes that modified realist tales have value in SEND in PE research.