Within the last five years, the number of special needs students attending public elementary schools has greatly increased.
In order to accommodate these changes in elementary schools, approximately five hundred special needs classes have been creat...
Within the last five years, the number of special needs students attending public elementary schools has greatly increased.
In order to accommodate these changes in elementary schools, approximately five hundred special needs classes have been created each year for the past five years. This has been done to promote the integration of special needs students into the regular school system and student population.
Unfortunately, the majority of these special needs students are placed in the regular school environment regardless of the type or degree of their disability. The elementary schools are not outfitted with the proper resources, space, or support services suitable to teaching these students. Moreover, additional efforts on the part of personnel is required to ensure that special needs students are becoming a part of the class environment while receiving the education they require.
What is most important in this change of structure is the positive attitude of the general student population towards students with a handicap. To achieve an effective integrated education system, it is critical that the regular student body be taught patience with and acceptance of their special needs classmates.
The purpose of this study is to demonstrate the effects of these special needs programs on the attitudes of regular students towards their special needs counterparts. The study focuses on the correct recognition of issues and how student understanding is achieved in overcoming the naivety of dealing with special needs individuals.
The experiment was conducted using seventy-two students in two fourth-grade classes. Each group (the experimental group and control group) consisted of thirty-seven students at "A" Elementary School in Ulsan, Korea. The experiment was carried out with three procedures; a preliminary inspection, the experimental treatment of the two groups, and a final examination. Those students enrolled in the experimental group classroom were subject to the programs aimed at encouraging understanding towards other students with special needs. They received this treatment on eight occasions. Measurement tools Voltz 1981) of the Acceptance Scale (A-Scale) and Jo, Min-Gyeong(2008), the modified questionnaire was used to modify them appropriately to the research participants. The independent sample "T" test was used in the processing of the final results. After grading the students written questionnaires. the SPSS / WIN 12.0 program was used to interpret the differences in levels of understanding between the experimental and control groups towards those with disabilities.
The following are the results of the study.
Firstly, a slight change in the attitudes of the students in the research class was noted. There was, however, no change in the attitudes towards special needs students from the control group.
Secondly, there was a significant difference reported when researchers looked at the cooperative learning, peer tutoring, group support, and daily activities of each of the grade four classes. Those students who had received the eight periods of the understanding program demonstrated more compassion in their questionnaires.
In conclusion, the research demonstrates how the special needs program encourages the positive attitudes of regular students towards the special needs students in their school. It aids the classroom environment in terms of cooperative learning, student interaction, peer tutoring, group work and daily activities.
All in all, the evidence supports that the programs centered around understanding special needs students plays a vital role in the positive attitudes of regular students towards those who have special needs.