An insight into the attitudes held by four- to six-year-olds toward people with disabilities: ideas, feelings, and behaviors.

Abstract

Everyone is unique and has their own characteristics, interests, and needs. Consequently, schools must be able to cater to this diversity through an inclusive approach that begins in early childhood education. To this end, the necessary support must be implemented, and the wider educational community — particularly classmates — must adopt positive attitudes toward people with disabilities. Therefore, the present study aimed to determine the attitudes of early childhood education students toward people with disabilities and the variables that influence these attitudes. For this purpose, a sample of 261 participants completed a questionnaire with the help of an adult. Our findings revealed that the children generally have positive attitudes towards different types of disability. Furthermore, it was found that the type of disability, along with the variables of age, gender, and knowledge, impacted certain dimensions of these attitudes.