Changing Attitudes Towards People with Disabilities in a Positive Direction: A Pilot Practice of Psychoeducation in Primary Education

Year 2024, Volume: 9 Issue: 3, 238 - 252, 23.07.2024

Ayça Büyükcebeci , Fikriye Demirkıran

https://doi.org/10.24331/ijere.1437717

Abstract

Background: Acceptance by society and a sense of belonging are fundamental needs, second only to physiological requirements. However, discrimination, involving the exclusion of individuals perceived as different and less worthy, remains a pervasive issue in almost every society. Those most adversely affected by this problem are often people with disabilities. This study aimed to assess the impact of a multi-component psychoeducational program on the attitudes of children with typical development toward peers with disabilities during middle childhood.
Participants and procedure: An experimental study was conducted, involving 61 students aged 9-12 attending primary school. The pretest-posttest results of the experimental, placebo, and control groups were compared at the end of the study.
Results: The psychoeducational program was found to significantly enhance the attitudes of typically developing children toward their peers with disabilities. Specifically, statistically significant differences were observed in the avoidance dimension and the total attitude score among typically developing children in the experimental, placebo, and control groups. However, no significance was found in the dimensions of acceptance, pity, and sense of similarity.
Conclusions: The study's findings are expected to contribute to preventive and intervention programs designed to foster positive attitudes towards people with disabilities in primary education.

Keywords

Developing positive attitudes, Middle childhood period., Children with disabilities

Ethical Statement

Bu araştırma 23.12.2021 Tarihinde 210065 protokol numarası ile Muğla Sıtkı koçman Üniversitesi Sosyal ve Beşeri Bilimler Araştırmaları etik kurulu tarafından onaylanmıştır. Araştırmaya dahil olan çocukların ailelerinden onam formları alınmıştır.

Supporting Institution

TÜBİTAK 2209-A Üniversite Öğrencileri araştırma projeleri destekleme programı

References

• Alkaabi, A. M., Abdallah, A. K., Badwy, H. R., Badawy, H. R., & Almammari, S. A. (2022). Rethinking school principals' leadership practices for an effective and inclusive education. In Rethinking inclusion and transformation in special education (pp. 53-70). IGI Global.