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Affective response to exceptional children by students preparing to be teachers
Perceptual and Motor Skills
|February 1, 1978
Summary
Teachers showed more positive feelings toward exceptional children when they thought there was only one in a classroom, compared to many. This impacts inclusive education strategies.
Area of Science:
- Educational Psychology
- Special Education
Background:
- Understanding teacher attitudes towards students with disabilities is crucial for inclusive classrooms.
- Teacher perceptions can significantly influence the learning environment and student outcomes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the affective responses of pre-service teachers towards exceptional children.
- To examine how the perceived number of exceptional children in a classroom influences these attitudes.
Main Methods:
- A semantic differential scale was used to measure affective responses.
- Data were collected from 56 early childhood, elementary, and middle school majors at the University of Georgia.
Main Results:
- Teacher majors exhibited higher positive affective responses when perceiving a single exceptional child versus multiple exceptional children in a regular classroom setting.
- Perception of quantity significantly modulated affective response.
Conclusions:
- The perceived prevalence of exceptional children in a classroom setting influences teacher attitudes.
- Findings suggest a need for teacher training to foster consistently positive attitudes regardless of class composition.