Gender Differences in Attitudes of Students Attending Non-Inclusive School Towards Inclusive Physical Education

Abstract

Summary The objective of the study was to determine and compare the attitudes of high school students of the non-inclusive school towards inclusive physical education according to gender. This study deepened the knowledge about the students’ attitudes toward the inclusion of students with physical and intellectual disabilities. The research sample comprised a total of 181 able-bodied high school students (56 boys and 125 girls) attending one non-inclusive high school in Bratislava, Slovakia. Modified Czech version of the CAIPE (Children’s Attitude toward Inclusive Physical Education) questionnaire was used as a primary research method. Girls presented higher levels of positive attitudes towards inclusive physical education (IPE) in goal achievement, motivation, and motor skills learning. Boys showed a higher level of positive attitudes in the self-confidence of students with disabilities through IPE. In the goal achievement, girls expressed a significantly higher positive attitude towards IPE in students with intellectual disabilities inclusion (U = 2817, p = 0.029, r = 0.168). The highest level of a positive attitude toward IPE declared both genders by society inclusion and the lowest level of positive attitude by motor skills acquisition. Slovak students of a non-inclusive high school showed a positive attitude toward IPE for the inclusion of pupils with physical as well as intellectual disabilities.