Abstract
The purpose of the present study was to examine the effect of the “Paralympic School Day” (PSD) program on the attitudes of 5th and 6th grade Greek students without disabilities and the effect of gender differences on the inclusion of children with disabilities in physical education classes. The 178 children were divided into two groups, (an experimental n = 86 and a control group n = 92). The experimental group received a day program, PSD, aimed at creating awareness and understanding of people with disabilities. All children answered twice the CAIPE-R, Children’s Attitudes toward Integrated Physical Education – Revised Questionnaire (Block, 1995), modified. The questionnaire posited two attitude subscales: general and sport-specific. A 2X2 repeated measures analysis of variance was used to examine the differences in pre and post tests between the two groups and genders. Results indicated significant differences on the experimental group, only in general attitudes and not in the case of sport-specific related questions. In addition no gender differences were shown (p<.05).
Highlights
Over the last decade the idea of inclusion has become increasingly the focus of national and international policy of education (Armstrong, 1998)
Independent sample T-test showed no significant differences in pre tests between experimental and control group for the two attitude variables, general and sport-specific (p > .05)
There was a small change on sport-specific attitudes after the implementation of the Paralympic School Day” (PSD) program which was not significant (Tables 3, 4)
Summary
Over the last decade the idea of inclusion has become increasingly the focus of national and international policy of education (Armstrong, 1998). An inclusive school is a place where everyone belongs, is accepted, supports, and is supported by his or her peers and other members of the school community in the course of having his or her educational needs met. It means providing all students within the inclusive appropriate educational programs that are challenging yet geared to their capabilities and needs as well as any support and assistant they and/or their teachers may need to be successful in an inclusive environment (Stainback & Stainback, 1990). Students without disabilities: learn to approach children with different characteristics (Romer & Haring, 1994), develop empathy and acceptance of individual children’s differences (Lieber, Capell, Sandal, Wolfberg, Horn & Bechman, 1998), become more aware and more responsive to other children’s needs
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
