ABSTRACT
In this study we examine the effectiveness of an intervention program to influence attitudes of elementary school students towards peers with intellectual, physical and severe physical and intellectual disabilities. A quasi-experimental longitudinal study was designed with an experimental group and a control group, both comprising two rural schools. An intervention program was developed for kindergarten (n(experimental) = 22, n(control) = 31) and elementary school students without disabilities (n(experimental) = 91, n(control) = 127) (age range 4-12 years old). This intervention consisted of a 3 weeks education project comprising six lessons about disabilities. The Acceptance Scale for Kindergarten-revised and the Attitude Survey to Inclusive Education were used to measure attitudes at three moments: prior to the start of the intervention, after the intervention and 1 year later. The outcomes of the multilevel analysis showed positive, immediate effects on attitudes of kindergarten students, but limited effects on elementary school students' attitudes.
Subject(s)
Attitude to Health , Disabled Persons , Peer Group , Students/psychology , Child , Child, Preschool , Female , Humans , Male , Program Evaluation , SchoolsABSTRACT
The goals of this study were twofold. The first aim was to explore loneliness prevalence in typically developing students, students with ASD and students with motor and/or sensory disabilities in mainstream 7th grade in Belgium. The second aim was to explore the relations between number of friends, friendship quality, social self-concept on the one hand and loneliness on the other for each of these three groups, and to compare them across groups. In this study, 108 students with special educational needs (SEN; i.e., 58 students with ASD and 50 students with motor and/or sensory disabilities) were matched to 108 typically developing classmates. Students with ASD reported more loneliness than typically developing students and students with motor and/or sensory disabilities. Loneliness prevalence for typically developing students and students with motor and/or sensory disabilities did not differ significantly. Factors related with loneliness differed between typically developing students and students with SEN (i.e., students with ASD and students with motor and/or sensory disabilities). For students with SEN, same-sex social self-concept was related with loneliness, but not, as for typically developing students, number of friends and opposite-sex social self-concept. Also friendship quality had a marginally significant effect on loneliness feelings for students with SEN. Implications for further research and practice are discussed.
Subject(s)
Child Development Disorders, Pervasive/psychology , Disabled Children/education , Disabled Children/psychology , Education, Special , Intellectual Disability/psychology , Loneliness/psychology , Mainstreaming, Education , Adolescent , Child , Female , Friends/psychology , Gender Identity , Humans , Male , Reference Values , Self Concept , Social Adjustment , Sociometric Techniques , Surveys and QuestionnairesABSTRACT
This study aimed to explore Belgian adolescents' attitudes towards peers with disabilities and to explore factors associated with these attitudes. Based on the theory of persuasive communication, this study focused on receiver variables (the "whom"), characteristics of students with disabilities ("concerning who") and channel ("how"). An online survey was created and published on several popular websites for youngsters. Attitudes were assessed by means of the CATCH questionnaire among 167 adolescents between 11 and 20 years old. Univariate and multivariate regression analyses were conducted. Belgian adolescents had fairly tolerant attitudes towards peers with disabilities. Factors associated with more positive attitudes were being female, and viewing a video introduction of a peer with a disability before assessing attitudes. Factors such as having a parent, sibling or good friend with a disability and frequent contact with persons with disabilities did not remain significant in the overall model. The way in which students with disabilities are presented to their peers is very important. Further research is needed among larger samples, including more diverse variables, concerning the former mentioned categories, and also concerning the source (the "who") and message (the "what").
