The impact of contact on students’ attitudes towards peers with disabilities

Schwab, Susanne

doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2017.01.015

Cited by 89 publications

(88 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…This suggests that the higher the quality and quantity of contact at school, the more positive one's attitudes toward people with IDs will be. These findings support and extend previous research suggesting that contact, and specifically school‐based contact, is related to attitudes later in life (Rillotta & Nettelbeck, ; Schwab, ). This furthers research conducted by Rillotta and Nettelbeck (), by supporting the finding that contact at school is significantly associated with attitudes toward people with IDs.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

“…Although substantial research has investigated the effect of contact upon attitudes toward people with IDs, and the impact of contact on school‐aged children (Al‐Kandari, ; Rillotta & Nettelbeck, ), little research investigates the specific impact of contact at school. Research with an Austrian sample of children suggests that voluntary contact at school with students with IDs is related to positive attitudes, though contact was measured through observation alone, and long‐term attitudes were not considered (Schwab, ). In line with the UK government inclusion policy changes between 1996 and 2001, the current cohort of university students provides one of the first opportunities to investigate the impact of mainstream inclusion upon attitudes later in life, with current 18–21‐year olds having started school shortly after the inclusion policies were introduced.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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School inclusion and attitudes toward people with an intellectual disability

Thomas

Rose

2019

Policy Practice Intel Disabi

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People with intellectual disabilities (IDs) are often subject to prejudice and negative attitudes within mainstream society. Personal contact has been found to be one of the most important factors in improving negative attitudes. Governmental policy changes in the UK in the 1990s facilitated the inclusion of children with IDs into mainstream education. The current study aimed to investigate whether the contact that students had with peers with IDs, through the inclusion of students with IDs in mainstream schools, is related to attitudes toward people with IDs. Two hundred and fortyseven undergraduate students completed an online questionnaire which measured attitudes toward people with IDs, and both the quality and quantity of contact with people with IDs in varying contexts. Correlational and regression analyses show that more contact at school is significantly associated with positive attitudes toward people with IDs, when controlling for contact in other contexts. Findings suggest that those who had a more, or higher, quality of contact were significantly more likely to have more positive attitudes in adulthood. These findings suggest that inclusion policies may help to encourage more positive attitudes toward people with IDs in the long term. Further research is necessary to replicate these findings, and to further these findings by investigating the specific experiences at school that may encourage more positive attitudes.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

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confidence: 99%

School inclusion and attitudes toward people with an intellectual disability

Thomas

Rose

2019

Policy Practice Intel Disabi

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“…The amount of time and the immediacy of the contact, i.e. in person, were identified as critical factors in the positive attitudes evinced by children [11–14], and physiotherapy students [15]. Allport hypothesised that face to face interactions would have a positive effect on the attitudes of one social group for another [16].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The perception of disability by community groups: Stories of local understanding, beliefs and challenges in a rural part of Kenya

et al. 2017

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Cultural narratives on disability have received much attention over the past few decades. In contexts of poverty, limited information and everyday challenges associated with having, or caring for someone with a disability, different understandings have emerged. A project was set up to promote disability awareness in neighborhood communities in a rural part of Kenya, using a process of reflection and education. This paper reports on the first aspect–reflection. The aim was to investigate local understanding of disability as a co-constructed concept. The research questions were: 1. What cultural beliefs shape local understanding of disability? 2. What challenges are perceived to be associated with disability? A phenomenological approach was adopted. Focus group discussions were conducted with twenty-one community groups involving 263 participants and audio-recorded. The data were transcribed and thematic analysis was carried out. Visual maps were created to illustrate any interconnections, before establishing the final conclusions. Local beliefs attributed disability to: human transgression of social conventions, particularly concerning inappropriate family relations, which invoked a curse; supernatural forces affecting the child; the will of God; unexplained events; and biomedical factors. Challenges associated with disability related to the burden of caregiving and perceived barriers to inclusion, with stress as a shared bi-product. Local understanding of disability in this rural part of Kenya demonstrated overlapping explanations and plurality of beliefs. Two possible interpretations are offered. Firstly, oscillation between explanatory lines demonstrated instability, affecting broader acceptance of disability. Secondly, and more positively, in the face of challenges, the desire to make sense of the existing situation, reflected a healthy pluralism.

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“…Findings indicate a relationship between their attitudes and their planned behaviour towards peers with special educational needs (Freitag & Dunsmuir, ; Roberts & Smith, ). Current research also shows the importance of children’s contact experiences for their attitudes towards peers with learning disabilities (Amstrong et al, ; Nowicki & Sandieson, ; Schwab, ). Furthermore, we make an exploratory assumption that children’s social self‐concepts affect their attitudes towards peers with learning disabilities.…”

Section: Hypothesesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Children’s attitudes towards peers with learning disabilities – the role of perceived parental behaviour, contact experiences and self‐efficacy beliefs

Hellmich¹,

Loeper²

2019

British J Special Edu

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Children with special educational needs often feel lonely in classrooms, are less accepted by their classmates and have fewer friendships. Their classmates’ positive attitudes towards them are important for their social participation in inclusive classrooms. According to the theory of social referencing, children’s attitudes towards peers with special educational needs are influenced by the role model behaviour of their parents. Therefore, we examined the relevance of children’s perceptions of parental behaviour in terms of their attitudes towards peers with learning disabilities. This was done by investigating N = 753 children’s attitudes, depending on their perceptions of parental behaviour towards peers with special educational needs, their contact experiences and their self‐efficacy beliefs concerning their interpersonal skills. The results indicate that their attitudes are predicted by their perceptions of parental behaviour, their contact experiences and their self‐efficacy beliefs. The effect of perceived parental behaviour on children’s attitudes is mediated by their self‐efficacy beliefs.

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The impact of contact on students’ attitudes towards peers with disabilities

Cited by 89 publications

References 23 publications

School inclusion and attitudes toward people with an intellectual disability

School inclusion and attitudes toward people with an intellectual disability

The perception of disability by community groups: Stories of local understanding, beliefs and challenges in a rural part of Kenya

Children’s attitudes towards peers with learning disabilities – the role of perceived parental behaviour, contact experiences and self‐efficacy beliefs

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