Evaluation of Special Olympics Curriculum

Abstract

When the 2001 Special Olympics World Winter Games were held in Anchorage in March 2001, among the many benefits Anchorage residents reported was better understanding of people with disabilities. The games brought close to 2,000 athletes with mental disabilities and more than 740 coaches from 70 countries to Alaska. Schools offer one of the best forums to help children with mental disabilities be accepted and included. The Special Olympics World Winter Games Organizing Committee developed several programs to help Alaska school administrators, teachers, and athletic coaches build meaningful opportunities for all students to train and complete together. These included programs for school enrichment, athlete leadership, unified sports, sports partnership, and a partners club. Chapter II provides more detail about the curriculum evaluation surveys. Chapter III profiles the responses of Alaskan educators. Chapter IV discusses the results of our evaluation, and Chapter V describes how future Special Olympics organizing committees might use this information for planning. The appendixes include the survey questionnaires and copies of relevant documents.