Associations between Prior Disability-Focused Training and Disability-Related Attitudes and Perceptions among University Faculty

Abstract

This investigation examined the relationship between prior disability-focused training and university faculty members' attitudes towards students with learning disabilities (LD). A survey containing items designed to measure faculty attitudes was sent to all full-time faculty at one university. Analyses of 198 responses indicated that faculty who had received some form of disability-focused training scored higher on factors pertaining to Willingness to Provide Exam Accommodations, Fairness and Sensitivity, General Knowledge About LD, Willingness to Personally Invest in Students with LD, and personal actions, such as Inviting Disclosure and Providing Accommodations, and lower scores on negatively valenced factors than did faculty who had not received prior training. Faculty who had previously attended disability-related workshops and courses reported the most positive attitudes, followed by faculty who had participated in “other” forms of training (i.e., reading books and articles or visiting websites) and faculty who had received no prior training. The total number of types of training experienced and time spent engaged in training was predictive of faculty attitudes as well as faculty-reported satisfaction with prior training. Implications of the findings are discussed.

Actitudes hacia la Discapacidad en el Ámbito Educativo a través del SSCI (2000-2011). Análisis Temático y Bibliométrico

“…La importancia de las actitudes que adopta el profesorado queda manifiesta por la gran cantidad de trabajos publicados en los últimos años centrados en el análisis de las actitudes docentes tanto hacia la integración e inclusión de las personas con discapacidad en los centros ordinarios (Boer, Pijl, y Minnaert, 2011;Cagran y Schmidt, 2011;Cook y Cameron, 2010;Cook, Tankersley, Cook, y Landrum, 2000;Finke, McNaughton, y Drager, 2009;Jordan, Glenn, y McGhie-Richmond, 2010;Kim, 2011;López, Echeita, y Martin, 2009;Moberg, 2003;Ocloo y Subbey, 2008;Parasuram, 2006) como hacia los alumnos con necesidades educativas especiales (Busch, Pederson, Espin, y Weissenburger, 2001;Kozub y Lienert, 2003;Murray, Lombardi, Wren, y Keys, 2009;Stephens, Stephens, y Von Eisenhart-Rothe, 2000;Woolfson y Brady, 2009). Esta doble vía de investigación se justifica por el hecho de que tal y como defiende Cochran (1997), las actitudes que se adoptan hacia la integración escolar reflejan, en gran medida, las actitudes hacia las personas discapacitadas en general.…”

Safeguarding student well-being: establishing a respectful learning environment in undergraduate psychiatric/mental health education

“…As with other academic disciplines, some students who are pursuing psychiatric/mental health nursing education may have been diagnosed with a learning disability (e.g. Murray et al. 2009) or a psychiatric illness (Weiner & Wiener 1997) and, as a result, may require special accommodations.…”

Preparing Teaching Assistants to Work With All Learners: The Impact of Accessibility Training

“…A number of studies have described approaches to accessibility training for faculty and instructors (Harrison, ; Krampe & Berdine, ; McGuire, Scott, & Shaw, ; Mytkowicz & Goss, ; Scott & Gregg, ; Wilson, Getzel, & Brown, ; inter alia). Others reported a positive impact of accessibility training on faculty members’ receptiveness to implementing accommodations (Bigaj, Shaw, & McGuire, ; Lombardi & Murray, ; Lombardi, Murray, & Gerdes, ; Murray, Lombardi, Wren, & Keys, ). Several program evaluation studies have confirmed the positive posttraining effectiveness of such professional development experiences: Sowers and Smith () discussed the positive impact of a brief training program offered to nursing faculty and explored their perceptions of students with disabilities.…”