Effects of different forms of school contact on children's attitudes toward disabled and nondisabled peers

Background. There have been fluctuations in research interest into the inclusion of children with disabilities in mainstream schools over the last twenty years. It is still not clear what methods, practices and types of contact are most likely to promote positive attitudes in children toward disabled peers and disability generally. Aims. To consider two theoretical models of inter-group contact, both claiming to identify precursors for generalised attitude change, in relation to the attitudes of non-disabled children toward disabled peers as a function of different classroom contact. Sample. Participants were 256 non-disabled school children aged 5-11 years (128 girls and 128 boys). Methods. Measures of sociometric preference and the evaluation of psychological and physical attributes were used to ascertain children's perceptions of known and unknown peers with disabilities. Results. A relationship was found between the type of contact the children had with disabled peers, and their perceptions of psychological and physical attributes (stereotypes) of groups of unknown disabled and non-disabled peers. Conclusions. Results show generalisation of stereotypic attitude/judgments from one type of disability to another as a consequence of the two types of contact situation. Findings have important implications for integrating disabled children into mainstream.