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Journal of Undergraduate Research

Keywords

bibliotherapy, elementary students, peers with disabilities, perceptions

College

David O. McKay School of Education

Department

Counseling Psychology and Special Education

Abstract

This study constructed and evaluated an extended-contact method of intervention to investigate children’s attitudes towards peers with disabilities. A 3×2 (neutral and intergroup, divided into didactic and bibliotherapy; pre- and post-intervention) design was used with 288 children ages 6-12 years in grades 1-5 in Mt. Pleasant Elementary School, North Sanpete School District, Mt Pleasant, Utah. All students completed the Acceptance Scale/Acceptance Scale for Kindergarteners-Revised as a pre-test and a post-test measure. Students also completed the Adjective Checklist as an additional post-test measure. Two weeks after post-test measures were completed, three students from each grade, with a minimum of one from each intervention group and one from each control group, were interviewed for additional qualitative data. Children’s picture books that included characters with disabilities were used for intergroup contact over a period of five instructional sessions for students in the bibliotherapy group. Students in the didactic instruction received similar disability awareness lessons without the use of bibliotherapy. Children in the control group did not receive any instruction related to individuals with disabilities beyond what was presented as part of their normal curriculum.

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