AN INVESTIGATION OF CHILDREN'S ATTITUDES TOWARDS PHYSICALLY DISABLED PEERS

With the concept of mainstreaming of handicapped children being at the forefront of special education, and the stipulations imposed by P.L. 94-142 regarding public school education for all handicapped children, normal children are more in contact with children demonstrating disabilities than they previously have been. The school is a major institution affecting a child's socialization. A major aspect of the socialization process is the development of attitudes towards other people. It seems appropriate, then, to investigate the attitudes that physically able-bodied children have towards their physically disabled peers, and at what age these attitudes emerge