The purpose of this study is to provide fundamental data for effective development and expansion of integrated education, by analyzing and comparing the attitudes of general students in different grades, sexes, experiences and regions, in accepting di...
The purpose of this study is to provide fundamental data for effective development and expansion of integrated education, by analyzing and comparing the attitudes of general students in different grades, sexes, experiences and regions, in accepting disabled classmates in integrated classes of Middle Schools, in terms of the ranges including company keeping, life attitude, and learning activities.
For this study we surveyed classes (both integrated classes and general classes) in three schools based in Daegu Metropolitan City and North Kyongsang Province during the period of July 1st - 20th, 2004. The questionnaire, used as a tool for this study, was modified to fit the subjects of this study. It was originally designed by Hee-sun, Bang and Mal-soon, Song. It contained a total of 30 questions. Ten were about the range of company keeping, ten were about the range of life attitude, and the remaining ten were about the range of learning activities. Among the 600 questionnaires administered, 588 were collected.
The collected data were statistically processed through the SPSSWIN (Statical Package for the Social Science, Ver 10.0) program, and their reliability was verified by Cronbach's coefficient. We determined the mean (M) and the standard deviation of four factors (grade, sex, former experience of integrated education, region) of the general student's attitudes in accepting the disabled students in special classes to analyze the differences among the factors, and independent Sample t-test or one-way ANOVA was used to determine the significance of the results.
The results of this study can be outlined in four points.
First, in integrated classes, general student's accepting attitudes of disabled classmates are more positive in higher grades. This can be interpreted that juvenile students in high grades have mental maturity, good self-esteem and social skills. More experiences with disabled students in an integrated class will help to increase general students' acceptability and understanding of the disabled, so it is desirable to expand integrated education.
Second, Female middle school students show more positive attitudes in accepting the disabled students. This represents the characteristics of female students, which are more emotional and sympathetic. Therefore, it will be good to seat a female student next to a disabled student to improve the efficiency of integrated education.
Third, in respect to the experience of integrated education, students in general classes show more positive acceptance than those in integrated classes. That means that students who have experience of integrated education are rejecting and discriminating against disabled students rather than understanding them on the basis of individual diversity. This shows that Korea's integrated education system is far from successful in educating general students as a result of focusing its efforts only on forming of the system. In order to achieve substantial integrated education, general students should get along well with disabled students in the educational scene, and the integrated education system should provide general students with positive experiences, where they can properly understand and accept the disabled students.
Fourth, in respect to the regional factor, middle school students in North Kyongsang Province show higher acceptance than those in Daegu Metropolitan City. This is because, in comparison with the Daegu Metropolitan City, North Kyongsang Province is narrower in area and less in social and regional transit, which allows more interpersonal relationships. It is necessary to take into account regional characteristics when implementing personality education programs that teach nondiscriminating relationships between general students and the disabled students in special classes.
In conclusion, recently the educational trend is moving towards the integrated class system. This study provides basic data for expansion of the integrated education system where general students can experience positive relationships with the disabled students in schools. Positive relationships between general students and the disabled students in school could lead the disabled to good integration into society.