DISABILITY AWARENESS PROGRAM IN A SUMMER CAMP

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to examine the impact of a disability awareness program on attitudes of children without disabilities toward the inclusion of peers with disabilities in a summer camp. Three hundred eighty seven campers without disabilities attending a non-inclusive summer camp participated in the study. Participants were divided into control (n = 190) and experimental group (n = 197). The control group followed the camp's program, while the experimental group attended a disability awareness program alongside to the camp's regular program. Participants completed twice the "Children's Attitude towards Integrated Physical Education-Revised" (CAIPE-R). CAIPE-R consists of two subscales: general and sports-specific. The results of the 2 X 2 repeated measures analysis of variance revealed statistical significant differences on the experimental group, both in general and in sport-specific attitudes subscales. These findings imply that participation in a disability awareness program can have a positive influence on children's attitudes towards the inclusion of children with disabilities in summer camps.