Relationships Between Enrollment in an Inclusive Class and Preschool Children's Ideas about People with Disabilities

Abstract

This research examines the relationships between participation in an inclusive preschool program, children's understanding of disabilities, and their acceptance of children with disabilities. Subjects were preschool children enrolled in regular (n = 31) and inclusive (n = 29) programs. Children's understanding of competencies associated with specific disabilities, and their general acceptance of others, were assessed using interview questions and dolls. Children were interviewed to learn their ideas about the immediate and long-term consequences of physical and sensory disabilities. In addition, children provided ratings of the social acceptance of hypothetical children with and without disabilities. Children in inclusive classes had more knowledge about long-term consequences of disabilities than did children in regular preschool classes. In addition, children in inclusive settings gave significantly higher acceptance ratings to children with and without disabilities than did children in regular preschool classes. Finally, it was found that children's knowledge of disabilities, their overall acceptance of individuals without disabilities, and their participation in an inclusive class contributed significantly and independently to their acceptance of children with disabilities.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Bibace, R. , & Walsh, M. (1980). Development of children's concepts of illness. Pediatrics, 66, 912–917

Bredekamp, S. , & Copple, C. (1997). Developmentally appropriate practice in early childhood programs. Washington, DC: National Association for the Education of Young Children.

Bricker, D. (1995). The challenge of inclusion. Journal of Early Intervention, 19, 179–194

Bricker, D. , & Cripe, J. W. (1992). An activity-based approach to early intervention. Baltimore: Brookes.

Carpenter, E. S. (1995). Preschool children's awareness of others' needs: Prosocial responses toward children with and without disabilities. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Purdue University, w. lafayette, in.

Conant, S. , & Budoff, M. (1983). Patterns of awareness in children's understanding of disability. Mental Retardation, 21, 119–125

Denham, S. (1986). Social cognition, prosocial behavior and emotion in preschoolers: Contextual validation. Child Development, 57, 194–201

Diamond, K. (1994). Evaluating preschool children's sensitivity to developmental differences. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, 14, 49–63

Diamond, K. , & Hestenes, L. (1994). Preschool children's understanding of disability: Experiences leading to the elaboration of the concept of hearing loss. Early Education and Development, 5, 301–309

10.

Diamond, K. , & Hestenes, L. (1996). Preschool children's conceptions of disabilities: The salience of disability in children's ideas about others. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, 16, 458–475

11.

Favazza, P. C. , & Odom, S. L. (1997). Promoting positive attitudes of kindergarten-age children toward people with disabilities. Exceptional Children, 63, 405–418

12.

Goodman, J. F. (1989). Does retardation mean dumb? Children's perceptions of the nature, cause, and course of mental retardation. The Journal of Special Education, 23, 313–329

13.

Guralnick, M. J. , Connor, R. T. , Hammond, M.A. , Gottman, J. M. , & Kinnish, K. (1996). Immediate effects of mainstreamed settings on the social interactions and social integration of preschool children. American Journal on Mental Retardation, 100, 359–377

14.

Hanline, M. F. (1993). Inclusion of preschoolers with profound disabilities: An analysis of children's interactions. Journal of the Association for Persons with Severe Handicaps, 18, 28–35

15.

Harter, S. , & Pike, R. (1984). The Pictorial Scale of Perceived Competence and Social Acceptance for Young Children. Child Development, 55, 1969–1982

16.

Odom, S. L. , & McLean, M. E. (1996). Early intervention/early childhood special education: Recommended practices. Austin, TX: PRO-ED.

17.

Peck, C. A. , Carlson, P. , & Helmstetter, E. (1992). Parent and teacher perceptions of outcomes for nonhandicapped children enrolled in integrated early childhood programs: A statewide study. Journal of Early Intervention, 16, 53–63

18.

Ramsey, P. G. (1988). Social skills and peer status: A comparison of two socioeconomic groups. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 34, 185–202

19.

Ramsey, P. G. & Myers, L. C. (1990). Salience of race in young children's cognitive, affective, and behavioral responses to social environments. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 11, 49–67

20.

Rholes, W. S. , & Ruble, D. N. (1984). Children's understanding of dispositional characteristics of others. Child Development, 55, 550–560

21.

Rubin, K. (1988). The social problem-solving test: Revised. Unpublished manuscript, University of Waterloo, Ontario, CA.

22.

Siperstein, G. N. , & Bak, J. J. (1986). Understanding factors that affect children's attitudes toward mentally retarded peers. In C. J. Meisel (Ed.), Mainstreaming handicapped children: Outcomes, controversies and new directions (pp. 55–75). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum

23.

Stoneman, Z., Rugg, M., & Rivers, J. (1996, December). How do young children learn about peers with disabilities? Examining the role of parents as teachers of values, attitudes and prosocial behavior. Paper presented at the DEC International Early Childhood Conference on Children with Special Needs, Phoenix, AZ.

24.

Task Force on Recommended Practices. (1993). DEC Recommended Practices: Indicators of quality in programs for infants and young children with special needs and their families. Reston, VA: Council for Exceptional Children.

25.

Triandis, H. (1971). Attitudes and attitude change. New York: Wiley.

26.

Wolery, M. , Holcombe-Ligon, A. , Brookfield, J. , Huffman, K. , Schroeder, C. , Martin, C. G. , Venn, M. L. , Werts, M. G. , & Fleming, L. A. (1993). The extent and nature of preschool mainstreaming: A survey of general early educators. The Journal of Special Education, 27, 222–234