title: Evaluating the effectiveness of an intervention program to influence attitudes of students towards peers with disabilities.
abstract: In this study we examine the effectiveness of an intervention program to influence attitudes of elementary school students towards peers with intellectual, physical and severe physical and intellectual disabilities. A quasi-experimental longitudinal study was designed with an experimental group and a control group, both comprising two rural schools. An intervention program was developed for kindergarten (n(experimental) = 22, n(control) = 31) and elementary school students without disabilities (n(experimental) = 91, n(control) = 127) (age range 4-12 years old). This intervention consisted of a 3 weeks education project comprising six lessons about disabilities. The Acceptance Scale for Kindergarten-revised and the Attitude Survey to Inclusive Education were used to measure attitudes at three moments: prior to the start of the intervention, after the intervention and 1 year later. The outcomes of the multilevel analysis showed positive, immediate effects on attitudes of kindergarten students, but limited effects on elementary school students' attitudes.
authors: Department of Special Education and Youth Care, University of Groningen, Grote Rozenstraat 38, 9712 TJ, Groningen, The Netherlands, anke.de.boer@rug.nl.
authors: Anke
authors: A
authors: de Boer
authors: Sip Jan
authors: SJ
authors: Pijl
authors: Alexander
authors: A
authors: Minnaert
authors: Wendy
authors: W
authors: Post
mesh_terms: D001294:Attitude to Health; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D006233:Persons with Disabilities; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010379:Peer Group; D015397:Program Evaluation; D012574:Schools; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology*
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