The attitudes of the non-disabled students toward students with disabilities in the selected school in Savar

Abstract

Background: A positive attitude is necessary to ensure inclusive and sustainable education for children with disabilities. Objectives: The study's primary aim was to identify the attitude of non-disabled students of two secondary schools of Savar towards their peers with disabilities or other children with disabilities. The other objective was to elicit the association among observed variables related to non-disabled children’s attitudes towards children with disabilities. Method: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among the students of two secondary schools studying from class six to ten at Savar aged 10-18 years between October and December 2023. There were 300 students and their parents were openly invited to the survey, and 227 responded (response rate 73%). We conducted the survey using a structured questionnaire with socio-demographic information and the Chedoke- McMaster Attitudes towards Children with Handicaps (CATCH) scale to determine the attitude of non-disabled students towards children with disabilities. Descriptive statistics were performed using mean, standard deviation, frequency and percentage; inferential statistics employed Pearson correlation, Spearman rank correlation, or Chi-square test according to the nature of data. Results: Among the respondents, females were higher in number than males, 93 (41%) and 134 (59%), respectively. The highest respondents were from class seven, 59 (26%). The respondent’s age was 13.5±1.5 years. Eighty-five (34.4%) of the respondent's fathers were secondary school educated, whereas 36 (15.9%) were graduates. Meanwhile, 68 (30%) of the mothers were secondary educated. Most of the respondent’s fathers were either businessman 91 (40%) or job holders 92 (40.5%). Hundred and seventy (74.9%) of the mothers were housewives. Most of the students had knowledge, experience, and relatives with disabilities, such as 87.2%, 62.1%, and 44.5%, but 99 (43.6%) had no peers with disability. No relationship was noted between age and attitude score (CATCH total or subdomains), whereas there was an association between CATCH score and subdomains (P<0.05). A significant association was noted between gender and students attitudes specific domain. A significant relationship was also noted between knowledge and experience on disability and attitude scores and sub-domains (P<0.01). Moreover, the significant relationship was also noted among students with disabilities, parents' education and job status with positive attitudes towards children with disability (P<0.05). Conclusion: With its unique focus on knowledge and attitude as measured by a validated scale, this study has provided significant insights. We discovered that students with a better understanding of disability or more exposure to individuals with disabilities or peers with disabilities demonstrated more positive attitudes. Furthermore, the study revealed that students in inclusive schools were more supportive of their peers with disabilities or other children with disabilities. Based on these findings, we propose the implementation of an inclusive curriculum in secondary schools in Bangladesh to foster more positive attitudes towards children with disabilities and to advance the cause of accessible education for all. Key words: Attitudes, CATCH Scale, Students with disabilities.