The effects on university students' attitudes toward persons with disabilities through classroom experience with an instructor with a disability

The purpose of this study was to determine (a) the effects of being enrolled in a course taught by an instructor with a disability in a normal classroom environment, (b) the effects of the type of disability of the instructor, and (c) the relationship of specific demographic factors, such as gender, age, class rank, and prior contact with persons with disabilities on university students' attitudes toward persons with disabilities.;A quasi-experimental design was used to assure experimental control necessary to study the effects of the independent variable. Students enrolled in five classes taught by university instructors with disabilities were selected as the experimental groups. Students enrolled in the same or similar courses as the experimental group, but taught by university instructors without disabilities were matched and selected as the control group. The study employed a pretest and posttest design for both the experimental and control groups. Analysis of covariances was the statistical procedure used to measure the data.;All subjects were pretested and posttested on the first and last meeting days. At the first class meeting the subjects completed the Demographic Inventory, Contact with Disabled Persons scale and the Attitudes Toward Disabled Persons scale Form A. During the last class meeting the subjects completed the Attitudes Toward Disabled Persons scale Form B. Each section of the course was scheduled for 50 hours over a ten week university calendar quarter.;There was an indication that, overall, exposure with instructors having disabilities may improve students' attitudes toward persons with disabilities. Perhaps even more importantly, different disabilities were associated with different levels of change in students' attitudes toward persons with disabilities. There was an indication that gender, age, and contact have no significant relationship with university students' attitudes toward persons with disabilities. There was a clear relationship between pretest and posttest ATDP consistent with there being reasonable reliability associated with the instrument.;Based on the findings that there was a statistically significant main effect for instructor status, taken together with the covariate adjusted means, it is concluded that university students' attitudes toward persons with disabilities can be positively modified by being exposed to an instructor with a disability in a normal classroom environment.