The primary purpose of this study was to determine whether a student teaching placement in an integrated classroom would promote a positive change in pre-service teachers attitude toward children with disabilities. Sixty-nine senior level pre-service teachers in early childhood education completing preschool student teaching participated in this study.
Using a true-experimental design, participants were randomly assigned to two groups using a matched pair technique. The control group was placed into a preschool classroom with no children having disabilities and the experimental group was placed in a classroom with at least one child with and Individualized Education Plan (IEP). Participants completed the Opinions Relative to Integration of Students with Disabilities (ORI) scale at the end of their student teaching experience (Antonak and Larivee, 1995). The analysis compared the mean scores of a post-test attitude survey of two groups of pre-school student teachers using a one-way multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA). MANOVA results did not reveal a significant result among student teaching placement sites on attitude factors, Wilks Λ =.906, F = 1.67, p <. 05, multivariate η2= .094 but offered insight to the literature. Demographic information and open-ended question responses added support to the notion that increased experiences with children with disabilities could positively influence the attitudes of pre-service student teachers.
This study, accompanied by other research, indicates that direct experiences with children with disabilities influence the development of attitudes toward integration. This study lays the groundwork for future preparatory program development in that it suggests the importance of placing pre-service teacher with role models that hold higher degrees. It also supports the infusion of special education throughout course work and direct contact experiences.