South Korean Undergraduate Collegians' Beliefs about Inclusion and Teaching Students with Disabilities

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to analyze the judgments of South Korean college students about inclusion and teaching students with disabilities before and after matriculation in adapted physical activity courses. Participants were undergraduate students at universities in South Korea. The research method was a Pretest-Posttest Nonequivalent Comparison Group Design. Data were collected using a survey scale (Son, Kozub, Noh, & Jun, 2006). There were 471 pretest and 478 posttest surveys returned. At pretest, there were no differences (p > .01) in the attitudes of participants as a function of their gender, direct contact, major or previous experiences. However, group differences were found in posttest scores as a function of academic major and past experiences teaching individuals with disabilities. Favorable shifts in judgments tend to occur when individuals are given credible evidence about and afforded opportunities to teach students with disabilities under favorable conditions (Allport, 1954). The findings and implications are discussed.