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Improving attitudes towards children with disabilities in a school context: a cluster randomized intervention study.
Emmanuelle Godeau1, Céline Vignes, Mariane Sentenac
1UMR INSERM U558, Research Unit on Perinatal Epidemiology, Child Health and Development, University Toulouse III Paul Sabatier, Toulouse, France. emmanuelle.godeau@ac-toulouse.fr
Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology
|July 22, 2010
Summary
This study investigated an educational intervention to improve student attitudes toward disabled peers. While attitudes improved in both groups, the intervention showed no significant effect, possibly due to the assessment scales themselves.
Area of Science:
- Education
- Psychology
- Special Education
Background:
- Inclusive education is standard practice but faces challenges from negative peer attitudes towards disabled children.
- Improving student attitudes is crucial for successful integration and positive social environments in schools.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the effectiveness of a comprehensive educational project designed to enhance 7th-grade students' attitudes towards their disabled peers.
- To analyze changes in cognitive, affective, and behavioral domains of attitudes using a validated scale.
Main Methods:
- A quasi-experimental study involving 1509 7th-grade students from twelve paired schools, randomly allocated to intervention or control groups.
- The intervention group participated in a mandatory educational project on disability.
- Attitudes were measured using the Chedoke-McMaster Attitudes Towards Children with Handicaps Scale (CATCH) before and after the intervention, with data analyzed using multilevel models.
Main Results:
- A significant improvement in overall student attitudes towards disabled peers was observed from baseline to post-intervention in both intervention and control groups.
- No statistically significant difference in attitude improvement was found between the intervention and control groups.
- Attitude changes were associated with baseline scores, with specific variations observed in students attending schools with special units for peers with cognitive impairments.
Conclusions:
- The educational intervention did not demonstrate a significant effect on improving student attitudes towards disabled peers.
- The observed improvements in attitudes may be attributed to the pre-intervention assessment process (e.g., scale completion) rather than the intervention itself.
- Further research is needed to develop and evaluate more effective strategies for fostering positive attitudes in inclusive educational settings.
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