Studia Kinanthropologica

Studia Kinanthropologica 2026, 27, 7-15 | DOI: 10.32725/sk.2026.005

The Potential of Heterogeneity in Physical Education: The Role of Participation and Instructional Organization

K. Jasanská

Univerzita Karlova, Fakulta tělesné výchovy a sportu, Katedra společenskovědního základu v kinantropologii

Heterogeneity is a structural characteristic of contemporary physical education and shapes students’ opportunities for meaningful participation. This conceptual-theoretical study examines the relationship between heterogeneity, participation, and instructional organization by synthesizing literature from inclusive pedagogy, sport pedagogy, and physical education didactics. The analysis focuses on performance-related, participatory, socio-cultural, interactional, and self-perception-related forms of heterogeneity and on organizational responses including differentiation, adaptive teaching, cooperative learning, nonlinear pedagogy, and models-based practice. The synthesis suggests that heterogeneity should not be understood merely as a set of individual student differences, but as a condition of participation mediated through instructional organization. Particular attention is paid to the risk of an “illusion of inclusion”, in which students are formally present in shared activities while opportunities for meaningful engagement, recognition, and learning remain unevenly distributed. The paper argues that inclusive physical education requires not only adaptation to student diversity, but also critical examination of how participation opportunities are organized, distributed, and recognized within learning environments.

Keywords: heterogeneity; inclusive physical education; participation; instructional organization; adaptive teaching; sport pedagogy

Received: April 4, 2026; Revised: June 1, 2026; Accepted: June 19, 2026; Published: September 24, 2026  Show citation