Teaching Games for Understanding (TGfU): An Effort to Foster Responsibility and Cooperation in Physical Education for Children with Disabilities

Abstract

Study purpose. Physical education learning is still dominated by a teacher-centered approach that emphasizes mastery of technical skills, so that affective aspects such as responsibility and cooperation are often neglected. This situation results in students’ low social skills in actively and collaboratively participating in learning activities. Therefore, an innovative, student-centered learning model is needed to address these issues. The purpose of this study is to enhance the sense of responsibility and cooperation among students with disabilities in physical education classes through the Teaching Games for Understanding (TGfU) method.

Materials and methods. This study is a classroom action research project involving 28 eighth-grade students from SMP Pembangunan V Yapis Waena in Jayapura City (average age ±13–14 years), all of whom have disabilities. The study was conducted in two cycles, each consisting of planning, action, observation, and reflection. Data analysis was performed using SPSS 26.

Results. The results showed that in the pre-cycle, the average score for responsibility was 40, with 5 students (17.86%) meeting the standard; for cooperation, 3 students (10.71%) met the standard. In the first cycle, the average score was 66, with 13 students (46.42%) meeting the standard for responsibility and 12 students (42.85%) met the mastery criteria for cooperation. In the second cycle, the average score was 75, with 28 students (100%) meeting the mastery criteria. Thus, there was an increase from the first cycle to the second cycle, reaching 100%. Furthermore, 100%  of the 28 students met the Minimum Mastery Criteria of 75.

Conclusions. In conclusion, the TGfU model is effective in enhancing responsibility and cooperation among students with disabilities in physical education. This study underscores the importance of implementing game-based learning models to holistically support the character development and social competencies of students with disabilities.