Effects of Labels and Personal Contact on Teachers' Attitudes Toward Students With Special Needs
Title:
Effects of Labels and Personal Contact on Teachers' Attitudes Toward Students With Special Needs
Author:
Weisel, Amatzia Tur-Kaspa, Hana
Appeared in:
Exceptionality
Paging:
Volume 10 (2002) nr. 1 pages 1-10
Year:
2002-03-01
Contents:
This study examined the effects of labeling and personal contact on teachers' attitudes toward low-achieving students. Seventy-two female high school teachers participated in the study. One half of the teachers (n = 36) had contact with low-achieving students who were attending special classes in which they were preparing for the matriculation exams, whereas the other one half had no contact with these students. Teachers' cognitive, emotional, and behavioral attitudes toward either a hypothetical "student in a special class" or a hypothetical "low-achieving student in a regular class" were evaluated by semantic differential scales. A multivariate repeated measures analysis of variance yielded a nonsignificant main effect for group membership (i.e., teachers with vs. without contact), a significant main effect of attitude target (i.e., students who attended regular vs. special classes), and a significant interaction effect. Post hoc comparisons revealed that (a) teachers without contact expressed more positive cognitive and emotional attitudes toward students in special classes than toward students in regular classes; (b) teachers with contact did not express different attitudes toward the 2 target groups of students; (c) teachers without contact expressed more positive cognitive, behavioral, and emotional attitudes toward students in special classes than did the teachers with contact; and (d) the 2 groups of teachers did not differ in their attitudes toward the regular class students. The results indicated that the label of the special class had a positive effect on teachers' attitudes, but that contact had a negative effect.
Journal description