Changes of attitudes towards inclusion in the physical education after experiencing the educational programme Paralympic school day

The aim of the study is to find out to what extent do the cognitive attitudes of selected primary and lower secondary school pupils towards pupils with disabilities and attitudes to the inclusive physical education (PE) change after they experience the educational programme Paralympic school day (PSD). In total, 78 pupils (37 boys and 41 girls) aged from 9 to 14 (mean age 12.72 ± 1.22) participated in the research. In order to perform the presented research, the questionnaires CAIPECZ (attitudes towards the inclusive PE) and ACL (cognitive attitudes towards people with disabilities) were used. The change in the pupils’ attitudes was assessed in the span of three weeks (before and after they experienced PSD). From the results of the performed study, it may be concluded that when the pupils went through PSD, they statistically significantly improved p < 0,001 in the area of cognitive attitudes at the small effect size coefficient (r = 0,32). However, the attitudes towards a model pupil with disabilities did not prove a statistically significant change (p = 0.27) at the effect size coefficient r = 0.09.