The Problem of Attitude Normally Developing Adolescents to Inclusive Health Improvement

Abstract

Objectives. Health improvement in an inclusive environment allows adolescents with special needs not only to improve their health, but also promotes their socialization and integration. Normally developing adolescents have another opportunity to make new friends and to develop the most important quality — tolerance. The attitude of normally developing adolescents to inclusive health improvement in the conditions of summer country camps in the Republic of Belarus was studied in order to determine the characteristics of the formation of an inclusive culture. 

Methods. The empirical study involved adolescent children (N=412), a total of 263 girls and 149 boys, who underwent health improvement in nine summer camps in the Republic of Belarus. Age of respondents: 13—16 years. We used the author’s questionnaire, which includes the following content blocks: understanding the importance of inclusive health improvement, readiness for health improvement, experience of interaction with children with special needs, problems of joint health improvement.

Results. Half of the adolescents surveyed recognize the importance of inclusive health improvement, but only 20% expressed their willingness to participate in it. The respondents identified non-acceptance and negative attitudes from peers, problems in communication and interaction as the main difficulties for the child with special needs. The majority of participants (90%) do not have regular experience of communicating with children with special needs, and 27% of adolescents identify the expected difficulties in communication as the main obstacle. None of the adolescents who participated in the study wrote about their negative attitude towards children with special needs, but 44% assume that others will offend such peers.

Conclusions. Participants in children’s health camps of adolescence generally have a positive attitude towards the idea of inclusive shifts, while their personal unpreparedness for inclusive health can be explained by the lack of experience interacting with children with special needs. 44% of adolescents have an unclear attitude towards inclusion and children with special needs, and competent educational work on the part of teachers will help change this attitude to a positive one, increasing an inclusive culture.