Differences in the effectiveness of three techniques for modifying children’s attitudes towards disability in early childhood education

ABSTRACT

To foster high-quality and inclusive education, students must hold positive attitudes towards all groups, including individuals with disabilities, a goal that can be accomplished through active participation in awareness-raising programmes. This study compares the efficacy of various strategies to modify attitudes towards disability among preschool children. For this purpose, 70 five-year-old children were divided into four distinct groups: Experimental Group 1, which received a combination of strategies (information enhancement, simulation, and imagined contact); Experimental Group 2, which engaged in information enhancement and simulation; Experimental Group 3, where only imagined contact was implemented; and the Control Group. Following the intervention, a notable improvement was observed in both attitudes and knowledge regarding disability in all experimental groups, with the most significant difference observed in Experimental Group 1. In conclusion, while these strategies are effective individually, their efficacy is further enhanced when combined.

KEYWORDS:

• Attitudes
• disability
• preschool education
• children
• intervention techniques

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the University of Granada [FPU18].