Youth attitudes to persons with disabilities in relation to the type of their school environment – a pilot study

Abstract

Objectives: This article presents the results of research aimed at determining how a particular school environment affects positive attitudes towards persons with disabilities among youth attending rural and urban schools and a school with integrated classes. Material and methods: The research process was based on diagnostic survey and questionnaire. The research tool applied was the Scale of Attitude Towards Persons with Disabilities (PWON) by Sękowski. The study included 200 respondents aged 14 and 15 years. They were young people attending three selected primary schools: one mainstream rural school, one mainstream urban school, and one mainstream urban school with integrated classes. Results: ANOVA showed a statistically significant effect: F (2.198) = 148.28; p = 0.00; η 2 = 0.59 which proves that the attitudes towards people with disabilities also depend on the type of schools attended by the compared groups. There were statistically significant differences between all compared groups of young people, out of which the respondents attending the mainstream urban school with integrated classes show the most positive attitude towards persons with disabilities. Conclusions: Average level of positive attitude towards disabled persons in young people varies according to the type of school they attend. Based on data analysis, it was found that the type of school the investigated young people attend is a variable that significantly differentiates attitudes towards persons with disabilities.

Three Intervention Programs in Secondary Education on Attitudes Toward Persons With a Disability

“…An important point that should be taken into account following the analysis of the results is that the three interventions carried out all had the common thread of the technique of structured contact which showcases the capacities of the monitors with a disability through positive interactions, thus facilitating the acknowledgement of their potential as persons and generating more accurate expectations, modifying attitudes toward them ( Laws and Kelly, 2005 ; Rillotta and Nettelbeck, 2007 ; Wong, 2008 ; Díez et al, 2011 ; Lemmer and Wagner, 2015 ; Cocco et al, 2020 ; Boin et al, 2021 ; Sadziak et al, 2021 ).…”

“…The first is based on the principle that persons make an effort to maintain some kind of coherence in their beliefs, attitudes, and behavior ( Briñol et al, 2003 ). The second establishes that intergroup contact implies clearly defined, real, face-to-face contact between the members of the groups and tends to produce changes in attitudes ( Allport, 1979 ; Pettigrew and Tropp, 2006 ; Lemmer and Wagner, 2015 ; Boin et al, 2021 ; Polo et al, 2021 ; Sadziak et al, 2021 ); giving rise to what Pettigrew (2009) called the “transfer of the secondary effects of contact,” in reference to the fact that those attitudes acquired through experiencing contact with a particular group can be transferred toward other groups not involved in the original situation.…”

The Intensity of the Health Behaviors of People Who Practice Wheelchair Basketball, Wheelchair Rugby and Para-Rowing

“…Meanwhile, para-rowing is the act of propelling a boat through water, using the muscular force of an oarsman, with their back turned in the direction of the boat's motion. In a rowing boat, all load-bearing parts, including the axes of moving parts, must be firmly attached to the hull of the boat, except for a seat that runs on rails along the longitudinal axis [31,32].…”