Attitudes Towards The Chances Of Success Of Students With Disabilities

Abstract

The theoretical framework of this research is the general systems approach, which posit that all organizational systems have mutual effects on themselves, and organizational climate theories, which posit that the climate of an organization can affect individuals’ attitudes to accessibility and towards students with disabilities. The purpose of the study is to investigate students’ attitudes toward the chances of success of students with a range of disabilities in their academic studies in general and in a teaching program specifically, as well as in work in general and specifically in the teaching profession. Participants were 106 students attending a college in Israel, who responded to a questionnaire. Findings showed differences in the estimated chances of success of students with disabilities in contrast to students without disabilities on all the measures tested. Participants expressed a high degree of willingness to assist students with disabilities in the classroom. Accessibility and a supportive organizational climate in the academic institution were moderate, confirming a need to develop a college-wide program to improve accessibility and awareness.

Keywords: General system theoryattitudestudents with disabilitiesaccessibility of academic institutionsorganizational climateself-concept

Introduction

In Israel, as in the rest of the world, the general public’s awareness of the need to guarantee equal rights to minority groups, including individuals with disabilities, and the ambition to realize the principle of optimal inclusion in all sectors of life in society, including education and higher education, has resulted in broad legislation on human rights and accessibility. )Israel's Government's laws for equal rights for persons with disabilities n.d.) and led to a significant increase in the number of students with disabilities in academic institutions (Tabakman, 2008; Leyser, 2011) which are students’ gateway to knowledge acquisition and preparedness for employment. As a result, success in academic studies has far-reaching implications to students’ futures. The success of students with disabilities is influenced both by personal factors such as self-concept, which includes self-esteem, and self-efficacy, and by the atmosphere on campus (Schein, 2010) and the attitudes of faculty and fellow students, which might strengthen or sabotage their efforts to succeed, both in their studies and in future employment.

Problem Statement

This research forms the second part of a three-part study that was conducted at a teacher education college in Israel to examine how students (with and without disabilities) assessed the chances of success of students with disabilities to succeed in academic studies and teaching training as well as to integrate into work in general and work as teachers. The study also examined the college’s accessibility-supporting climate and its role in promoting the success of students with disabilities.

The premise of this research is that attitudes, expressed here as assessing the chances of success of students with disabilities together with the actual support services and accommodations awarded to students with disabilities, produce a general atmosphere that we term “organizational accessibility climate,” which promotes or undermines the efforts of students with disabilities to succeed in their studies and their future career as teachers.

Research Questions

(a)What are the attitudes of students with and without disabilities regarding the chances of success of students with disabilities in their studies in general, and specifically in teaching?

(b)What are the attitudes of students with and without disabilities regarding the chances of success of students with disabilities to integrate into employment in general, and specifically into teaching?

(c)How do students, judge the accessibility climate at the college and their willingness to assist a student with disabilities?

(d)Is there a correlation between students’ characteristics and attitudes regarding chances of success. The characteristics that will be examined are diagnosed with a disability, previous acquaintance with a person with disabilities, exposure to activities related to accessibility?

Purpose of the Study

The purpose of the study is to investigate students’ attitudes toward the chances of success of students with a range of disabilities in their academic studies in general and in a teaching program specifically, as well as in work in general and specifically in the teaching profession

Research Methods

The research was conducted using a correlational quantitative approach, by examining the phenomenon as it exists in its natural reality, with no intervention. The design includes a comparison of two groups of student teachers studying at the same college of education in southern Israel: One group comprises students diagnosed with a disability, and the second group comprises students who were not diagnosed with a disability.

Findings

A significant effect was found in type of measurement (F (3.309) = 4.41, p < .005). Further Bonferroni tests showed, at a significance level of 0.05, that chances of success in general studies were assessed to be higher than those in teacher training, and chances of success in general employment were assessed to be higher than chances of success integrating into teaching. There was no significant interaction effect between measurement type and group. These differences were obtained in both groups: students with disabilities and students without disabilities. Comparisons were conducted between the two groups of students on their assessment of chances of success in studies and employment for each disability group separately. In all the cases in which differences were found between the assessments of students with and without disabilities, the direction of these differences was uniform and matched the research hypotheses: students with disabilities assess chances of success as higher than students without disabilities. Assessing chances of success in general studies: A significant difference was found at a level of significance of 0.05 for the chances of success of students with attention disorders: Students with disabilities attributed a greater chance of success to students with attention disorders (M = 4.70, SD = 1.24) than did students without disabilities (M = 4.11, SD = 1.52). The two groups did not differ in the assessment of the chances of success in general studies of all other disability groups.

Conclusion

The research findings are significant for our understanding of the chances of success of students with disabilities who are studying to be future teachers, and the different perceptions held by students with and without disabilities regarding the accessibility climate at the college, willingness to help students with disabilities, and awareness of the topic. Findings shed light on the factors that affect the success of students with disabilities in higher education and their integration into employment. Students without disabilities also constitute a sub-group within the general system, specifically students without disabilities are the majority group while students with disabilities constitute a minority group. According to system theory, all groups in the system maintain reciprocal relationships and their attitudes and behaviours affect each other. Therefore, granting accommodations to students with disabilities is not sufficient to ensure that they integrate well into studies, feel good about themselves as students, and feel an integral part of the system: It is also important that their peers believe in their abilities to integrate and are willing to help them do so. Therefore, education efforts are needed to raise awareness among students without disabilities of disability issues and promote direct ties between students without and with disabilities. Students who feel integrated will feel more confident and will be more motivated to persevere in their studies rather than drop out. In addition, students with disabilities, on their part, must be more proactive regarding their efforts to integrate into in all areas of study and society. One potential method is to establish a group of students with disabilities on campus as an advocacy group that raises awareness among of disability issues in all sub-systems on campus, including teaching staff, administrative staff and students. Such activity will also promote positive group identity and positive self-perception.

References

1. Baker, K. Q., Boland, K., &Nowik, C. M. (2012). A campus survey of faculty and student perceptions of persons with disabilities. Journal of Postsecondary Education and Disability, 25(4), 309 – 329.
2. Hess, A., Ron, R., Merk-Zigdon, N., & Gilat, Y. (2014). Attitudes of the academic and administrative faculty at Levinsky College of Education on the integration of students with special needs in training and teaching. Research report – Part 1. Tel Aviv: Research Assessment and Development Authority, Levinsky College. [In Hebrew].
3. Leyser, Y., (2011). Factors that promote or inhibit inclusion of students with disabilities in higher education: An international look. In G. Avisar, Y. Leyser& S. Reiter (Eds.), Combinations: Educational and social systems (pp. 345-379). Haifa: Achva. [In Hebrew]
4. Israel's Government's laws for equal rights for persons with disabilities. Retrieved From http// www.kolzchut.org.il/he/https://www.nevo.co.il/law_html/Law01/p214m2_001.htm
5. Schein, E. H. (2010) Organizational culture and leadership (4th ed.). San Francisco, CA: Wiley.
6. Tabakman, M. (2008). Accessibility of higher education services from theory to practice. Inyan Shel Gisha [A Matter of Approach.]. Journal on Accessibility for People with Disabilities, 8, 35-41.