Modifying the Attitudes of Nonhandicapped High School Students toward Handicapped Peers

Abstract

Two curricular approaches for modifying nonhandicapped high school students' attitudes toward their exceptional peers were compared. One curriculum was structured around categories of exceptionality (e.g., mental retardation, sensory impairments) while the other focused on generic concepts, including values, conformity, individual differences, and labeling effects. Each curriculum was presented over a 10-week period and the effects assessed via two pencil-paper attitude evaluation scales. Results revealed that both curricula positively modified students' attitudes, with subjects exposed to the categorical curriculum demonstrating significantly greater attitude changes. The data are interpreted relative to the issue of labeling and the most effective means of positively modifying attitudes toward handicapped persons.