A Cross-Cultural Examination of Young Children’s Attitudes Towards Peers with Disabilities in South Korea and the United States

Abstract

ABSTRACT Despite much research effort in promoting young children’s positive attitudes towards peers with disabilities, little is known about cultural influences on the attitude formation. In this study, data were collected from 111 kindergarten aged children from South Korea (n = 59) and the United States (n = 52) to measure the participating children’s attitudes towards peers with disabilities and compare their responses to an attitude measure, the Acceptance Scale for Kindergarteners-Revised (ASK-R). Results revealed that American children had significantly more positive attitudes towards peers with disabilities than Korean children did. When comparing children’s responses to each item in the ASK-R, larger differences were found on the items that did not specifically ask about peers with disabilities (e.g. Do you play with kids even if they look different?). Based on the results, cultural influences on children’s understanding and acceptance of peers with disabilities are discussed.