Influence of an awareness program on Portuguese middle and high school students' perceptions of peers with disabilities

Primary Students' Attitudes towards Peers with Disabilities in Physical Education in Saudi Arabia

The attitudes of students without disabilities toward their peers with disabilities are considered an important determinant of successful inclusion in physical education settings. Nonetheless, there is limited research on this topic in non-Western societies, especially in Arab contexts. Thus, to address this paucity in the literature, this study aimed to assess the general attitudes of Saudi students without disabilities towards their peers with disabilities and examine the associations between selected student-related variables (e.g., gender, age, type of school, school location, having a family member or a friend or a classmate with a disability, and having experience of playing with a person with a disability) and attitudes of students without disabilities. A total of 972 students aged 9-12 years old (M_age = 10.6; SD = 1.1; girls = 49.7%) completed the Arabic version of the Scale of Attitudes toward Students with Disabilities in Physical Education-Primary Education (SASDPE-PE). Data analysis indicated that, in general, participants reported positive attitudes toward their peers with disabilities in physical education classes. Despite boys being more likely to hold positive attitudes than girls, no significant difference between them existed. The results showed that 10-year-old participants reported more significantly positive attitudes than those in the other age groups. Participants attending public schools reported more significant positive attitudes toward their peers with disabilities in physical education classes compared to those attending private schools. Having a friend with a disability was linked to students without disabilities having positive attitudes towards their peers with disabilities. In contrast, having a family member or a classmate with disabilities and having played with a person with a disability were not related to such positive attitudes. The current study's findings have significant implications for inclusive educational practices.

Attitudes towards Peers with Disabilities among Schoolchildren in Physical Education Classes

All children, including those living with disabilities, have the right to be provided with Inclusive Education (IE) together with appropriate support in scholarly settings. A key factor for educational inclusion is peers' attitudes towards disabilities, which impact disabled students' social participation and learning. Physical Education (PE) classes represent an opportunity for students with disabilities to get psychological, social, health, and educational benefits. This study aimed to assess Spanish students' attitudes regarding their peers with disabilities during PE lessons and to explore possible differences between gender, school location, and age group. The sample consisted of 1437 students from public schools in Extremadura (Spain) from the primary and secondary stages. Participants completed the Attitude towards Students with Disabilities in Physical Education (EAADEF-EP) Questionnaire. The Mann-Whitney U test was carried out to establish differences in scores according to sex, school location, age group, and correlations between age and item scores using the Spearman's Rho test. The results displayed significant differences in the total and item scores considering sex and centre location, with good reliability values (Cronbach's alpha = 0.86). The EAADEF-EP Questionnaire has proven to be a quick, easy, and inexpensive tool to assess attitudes. Girls and participants whose school was in a rural setting had better attitudes towards inclusion. This study's results highlight the importance of carrying out educational actions and programs to improve students' attitudes towards their peers with disabilities considering the influences of the studied variables.

Perspektiven von Schüler*innen auf Differenzkategorien im Sportunterricht

Der Beitrag setzt sich mit der grundlegenden Frage auseinander, welche Differenzkategorien für die Teilhabe am Sportunterricht aus Schüler*innen-Perspektive besonders relevant sind. Dazu werden der Forschungsstand zu Inklusion und Heterogenität im Schulfach Sport beleuchtet, aus der Literatur Differenzkategorien deduziert und darauf aufbauend empirische Befunde aus einer Fragebogenerhebung mit N = 2546 Schüler*innen der Klassen sieben bis neun dargestellt. Im Fokus stehen dabei 23 aus der Literatur generierte Items, die sich auf Differenzkategorien beziehen und die von den Schüler*innen mittels einer fünfstufigen Skala hinsichtlich ihrer Bedeutung für den Sportunterricht bewertet wurden. Aus den mittels Clusteranalyse und Chi2-Tests ausgewerteten Daten lassen sich drei Schüler*innen-Cluster ermitteln, die sich in ihrer Wahrnehmung und Relevanzsetzung von Differenzkategorien im Sportunterricht unterscheiden. Zudem werden Unterschiede in der Clusterzusammensetzung erkennbar, die mit verschiedenen sozialstrukturellen Merkmalen der Schüler*innen (Alter/Klassenstufe, Geschlecht, Förderbedarf), den schulischen Rahmenbedingungen (Schulform, Schulklasse, Beschulungsform, Schulprogramm) und den Erfahrungen der Sportlehrkräfte (Teilnahme an Weiterbildungen) in Zusammenhang stehen. Die Befunde liefern Ansatzpunkte für die konkrete Umsetzung von Inklusion in der schulischen und sportunterrichtlichen Praxis (z. B. hinsichtlich der Ausrichtung des Schulprogramms, Teilnahme an Weiterbildungen) und für die weitere Forschung (z. B. hinsichtlich Schüler*innen mit Förderbedarf).

Student Attitudes Toward Inclusion in Physical Education: The Impact of Ability Beliefs, Gender, and Previous Experiences

This study addresses the associations between students' ability beliefs and attitudes toward inclusion in physical education, as well as the impact of gender and previous contact/participation with children with disability on these variables. A cross-sectional study was conducted with 976 students (491 girls and 485 boys; age 11-16 years), who responded to ability beliefs and attitudes questionnaires. Ability beliefs (entity and incremental) and the 3 sociodemographic variables predicted 20.4% and 9% of the behavioral and cognitive subscales of attitudes, respectively. Students with higher scores for entity beliefs of ability had a less favorable attitude toward inclusion. Girls reported more favorable attitudes toward inclusion than boys. Students who indicated previous participation in physical activities with children with disabilities showed attitudes that were more favorable in both the behavioral and cognitive subscales, while those who reported previous contact had more favorable attitudes in the behavioral subscale and lower entity beliefs. However, the 3 sociodemographic variables had a lower contribution to the explained variance of attitudes.