The history of people with disabilities has been characterized by a progressive trend toward inclusion in the mainstream of life. During the last three decades, in particular, significant progress has been made toward the societal goals of normalization, deinstitutionalization, and community integration. As a result, the effects of contact with disabled peers on the attitudes of normally developing children has become an important research question. To date, it is a question with no definitive answers. / To approach this question, methods of naturalistic inquiry were used in the context of a case study. The unit of analysis was a child-care center in which young children with and without disabilities were fully integrated on an ongoing basis. The primary informants in the study were the normally developing children, aged 3 through six, enrolled in the center. Participant observation and open-ended interviewing were the primary data collection techniques. Nonparticipant observation and analysis of school records were also used. Upon completion of field study, the data were analyzed and interpreted according to accepted procedures in the naturalistic research tradition. Data consisted of comprehensive field notes and interview transcripts derived from participant observation, formal interviews, and document analysis. / In contrast with many earlier studies of disability attitudes, contact between children with and without disabilities did not result in the development of prejudicial attitudes toward peers with disabilities. The participants expressed early awareness of sensory and physical disabilities, but virtually no awareness of intellectual disabilities. They expressed feelings of tolerance with regard to their peers with disabilities, and their feelings were corroborated by their actions. They named children with disabilities as their "best friends" less often than children without disabilities, but made some friendship choices from among their disabled peers. Negative evaluations of peers were elicited by behaviors that violated social norms, but not by sensory, physical, or intellectual differences. Program characteristics that appear necessary for the success of disability integration were discussed. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 50-08, Section: A, page: 2452. / Major Professor: Pearl E. Tait. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1989.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_78042 |
| Contributors | Esposito, Beverly Gohn., Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text |
| Format | 312 p. |
| Rights | On campus use only. |
| Relation | Dissertation Abstracts International |
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