The attitudes of young children towards peers with severe learning difficulties

Abstract

Ten 6‐ and 7‐year‐olds attending a first school who were involved in an integration project with a group of 10 4‐ to 9‐year‐olds with severe learning difficulties (SLD) were interviewed individually on two occasions. The first interview preceded the integration project and examined their attitudes towards mainstream classmates whom they thought to be ‘not very clever’ or needing ‘a lot of help’. The second interview followed two afternoon integration sessions and examined their attitudes towards peers with SLD.Descriptions of classmates with difficulties concerned ability on cognitive tasks or behaviour whereas those of the children with SLD focused on physical descriptors and/or classroom misbehaviour. Hypothesized causes of SLD were physical and the SLD children, unlike classmates with difficulties, were not seen as responsible for their condition. A minority of the mainstream children had evolved coherent explanations of SLD based on concepts of the SLD group as normal, but younger, children.Attitudes towards children with SLD are discussed within a framework of attitude development based on that proposed by Katz (1982). Educational implications of the study are considered.