Preschool Children's Comprehension of the Word “Handicapped”

Abstract

A group of 4- and 5-yr.-old children were asked the meaning of the word "handicapped," while another group were asked the meaning of a nonsense word. Five of 15 children claimed to know the meaning of "handicapped" but none could supply a factual definition. Two of 15 children in the comparison group claimed to know the meaning of the nonsense word. Despite their lack of knowledge, children in both groups continued to answer questions regarding their attitudes toward the word. The results cast doubt on the effective use of verbal measures of attitudes toward persons with disabilities when the subjects are preschool children.

A cross‐sectional multivariate analysis of children's attitudes towards disabilities

“…Discrimination against individuals with intellectual disabilities is a consistent finding, which is not surprising given that attitudes are frequently negative (Abrams et al. 1990; Nabors & Keyes 1995; Cohen & Lopatto 1995; Harper 1997; Okagaki et al. 1998).…”

“…Studies matching gender have found that boys and girls have similar attitudes (Kratzer & Nelson‐Le Gall 1990) but if gender is not matched, children show more biases against opposite‐sex target children (Woodard 1995). Gender differences have not been found in studies with several members of each gender, such as a choir or a group of children (Cohen & Lopatto 1995; Colwell 1998).…”

“…1993; Nabors & Keyes 1995; Tripp et al. 1995), some found that boys are more positive (Woodard 1995; Nabuzoka & Ronning 1997), while others indicated that gender differences do not exist (Kratzer & Nelson‐Le Gall 1990; Cohen & Lopatto 1995; Colwell 1998; Tamm & Prellwitz 2001). It is well known that children prefer to associate with their own gender (Sippola et al.…”

Understanding attitudes toward people with Down syndrome

“…However, research on factors associated with positive or negative attitudes toward peers with intellectual disabilities is inconsistent. Several studies have examined the effect of sex on attitudes toward peers with intellectual disabilities; some studies have shown that females have more positive attitudes toward peers with intellectual disabilities [Townsend et al, 1993; Nabors and Keyes, 1995; Tripp et al, 1995; Gash et al, 2000; Nowicki, 2003], while others showed no difference in attitudes by sex [Cohen and Lopatto, 1995; Tamm and Prellwitz, 2001]. Similarly, the research on age and its effect on attitudes toward peers with intellectual disabilities is inconsistent.…”

Η Επίδραση Διαφορετικών Μεθόδων Διδασκαλίας Στη Συνεκπαίδευση Μαθητών Με Και Χωρίς Ειδικές Εκπαιδευτικές Ανάγκες

“…Άλλες έρευνες αναφέρουν ότι οι μαθήτριες τείνουν να έχουν πιο θετική στάση από τους μαθητές απέναντι σε παιδιά με ειδικές εκπαιδευτικές ανάγκες (Bossaert, Colpin, Pijl, & Petry, 2011;Goreczny, Bender, Caruso, & Feinstein, 2011;Hodkinson, 2007;Krajewski & Flaherty, 2000;Laws & Kelly, 2005;Litvack, Ritchie, & Shore, 2011;McDougall, DeWit, King, Miller, & Killip, 2004;Nikolaraizi & de Reybekiel, 2001;Nowicki, 2006;Nowicki & Sandieson, 2002;Rosenbaum, Armstrong, & King, 1988;Royal & Roberts, 1987;Siperstein, Parker, Bardon−Norins, & Widaman, 2007;Slininger, Sherrill, & Jankowski, 2000;Townsend et al, 1993;Vignes et al, 2009). Αντίθετα, σε μικρότερο ποσοστό ερευνών φαίνεται ότι οι μαθητές είναι περισσότερο θετικά προδιαθετοιμένοι από ότι τα κορίτσια (Nabuzoka & Ronning, 1997), ενώ σε άλλες έρευνες δεν εμφανίζονται σημαντικές διαφορές μεταξύ των δύο φύλων (Abrams, Jackson, & Claire, 1990;Cohen & Lopatto, 1995;Cohen, Nabors, & Pierce, 1994;Colwell, 1998;Diamond, 2001;Diamond et al, 1997;Kalyva & Agaliotis, 2009;Lewis & Lewis, 1987;Nikolaraizi et al, 2005;Tamm & Prellwitz, 2001;Thomson & Lillie, 1995).…”