Negative depiction of people with disabilities has been an ongoing problem in our society. People with disabilities are viewed as dysfunctional and unable to contribute to society (Ee, Stenfert Kroese, & Rose, 2022). There is a lack of in-depth research to investigate the change in attitude towards people with disability pre and post education. As a result, the purpose of this study is to explore the perception of change in attitude among college students towards people with disabilities from taking a foundational recreation therapy course. The research questions that guide the analyses includes: 1. What are the changes in attitude (affects, cognitions, and behaviors) towards people with disabilities from taking a recreation therapy course?, 2. Are there any significant differences between students in different majors?, and 3. What is the impact this course has on the perception of people with disabilities? The students' attitude towards people with disabilities was measured using the Multidimensional Attitudes Scale Toward Persons With Disabilities (MAS) questionnaire. It consists of three subscales in measuring attitudes: 1. Affects, 2. Cognitions, and 3. Behaviors where 36 items are divided among the three subscales. There were 126 responses collected. The results indicated that there were significant changes in student’s perception in terms of affects, cognitions, and behavioral attitudes towards people with disabilities from taking the course regardless of their majors. Furthermore, respondents became more aware of the challenges and difficulty of those with disabilities.

Authors:
Erick Kong, California State University East Bay, United States
Jaesung An, California State University East Bay, United States
Keelin Jardin, California State University East Bay, United States
Saehya An, California State University East Bay, United States

About the Presenter(s)
Dr Erick Kong is a University Assistant Professor/Lecturer at California State University East Bay in United States

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