Related Experiment Videos
Children's attitudes toward peers with intellectual disability
M A Townsend1, K M Wilton, T Vakilirad
1Education Department, University of Auckland, New Zealand.
Journal of Intellectual Disability Research : JIDR
|August 1, 1993
Summary
Children with intellectual disabilities experienced positive social acceptance in mainstream schools, particularly when schools actively promoted academic and social integration. Girls showed especially favorable attitudes towards their peers with disabilities.
Area of Science:
- Special Education
- Developmental Psychology
- Social Inclusion
Background:
- Inclusion policies aim to integrate children with intellectual disabilities into regular schools.
- Social acceptance by peers is a critical factor for successful integration.
- The effectiveness of mainstreaming requires understanding regular classroom children's attitudes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess primary and intermediate students' attitudes toward peers with intellectual disabilities.
- To examine social distance experienced by children in satellite classrooms.
- To identify factors influencing attitudes in inclusive educational settings.
Main Methods:
- Teachers of satellite classrooms administered a school integration questionnaire.
- Data collected on attitudes and social distance from regular classroom children.
- Analysis focused on general attitudes and specific demographic influences (e.g., gender).
Main Results:
- Overall positive attitudes and social distance towards children in satellite classrooms were observed.
- Girls demonstrated particularly positive attitudes compared to boys.
- Schools with strong administrative policies for academic and social integration reported more positive attitudes.
Conclusions:
- Mainstreaming children with intellectual disabilities can achieve positive social integration.
- Proactive administrative policies significantly enhance peer acceptance.
- Findings inform and support current inclusive education strategies for intellectual disabilities.