How willing are regular-school students to accept peers with developmental difficulties?

Abstract

The development of positive attitudes among students towards children with developmental difficulties is a significant precondition for successful functioning of these children in regular school. This article presents the results of a research aimed at examining the level of readiness of regular-school students to accept peers with developmental difficulties. The sample comprised 471 fifth-grade students from ten primary schools in Serbia. The aim was achieved by: a) examining regular-school students' attitudes towards joint education with children with developmental difficulties and whether they would associate with and help such peers; b) examining the readiness of regular-school students to accept children with developmental difficulties, dependent upon the school's inclusion/exclusion in the inclusive education projects; and c) examining the teachers' opinions on the willingness of other students to accept children with developmental difficulties. The students whose schools were included in the projects of inclusive education expressed more positive personal attitudes towards their peers with developmental difficulties. This implies a necessity for a wider inclusion of schools into similar projects and providing direct contacts between the two groups of students.

Razvijanje pozitivnih stavova učenika prema deci s teškoćama u razvoju značajan je preduslov uspešnog funkcionisanja ove dece u redovnoj školi. U radu su predstavljeni rezultati istraživanja čiji je osnovni cilj bio da se ispita spremnost učenika osnovne škola da prihvate decu s teškoćama u razvoju. U istraživanju je učestvovao 471 učenik petog razreda iz deset osnovnih škola sa teritorije Srbije. Cilj je realizovan kroz: (a) ispitivanje stavova učenika prema zajedničkom školovanju s decom s teškoćama u razvoju, mogućnostima druženja i pružanja pomoći toj deci, kao i kroz ispitivanje odnosa koji učenici zauzimaju prema vršnjacima s teškoćama u razvoju, (b) ispitivanje učenika o prihvatanju dece s teškoćama u razvoju, zavisno od uključenosti/neuključenosti u projekte inkluzivnog obrazovanja, i (v) ispitivanje mišljenja nastavnika o spremnosti ostalih učenika da prihvate decu s teškoćama u razvoju. Analiza rezultata ukazuje na postojanje spremnosti učenika da prihvate decu s teškoćama u razvoju. Pozitivniji lični odnos prema vršnjacima s teškoćama imali su oni učenici čije su škole bile uključene u projekte inkluzivnog obrazovanja. To implicira neophodnost uključivanja škola u slične projekte i omogućavanje neposrednog kontakta između jedne i druge grupe učenika.