Professional self and social attitudes towards disability: A comparison between curricular and special needs teachers

The aim of this investigation was the exploration of social attitudes towards disability (assessed with open-ended items), expressed by 45 curricular and 45 special needs teachers, in relation to the representation of Professional Self and disabled and typically developed students (analyzed using semantic differential: De Caroli et al., 2007). Results showed that, about the future goals of disabled students, especially curricular teachers indicated the attainment of higher education and the achievement of social integration, on the contrary special needs teachers stated the acquisition of personal autonomy. About the emotions expressed by teachers, especially curricular teachers assumed that they have negative feelings towards disabled students, while special needs teachers expressed positive feelings. The representation of Professional Self was significantly more positive than that expressed toward disabled and typically developed students: this result was more relevant in special needs teachers than curricular colleagues. The representations of Professional Self and disabled students were more positive in teachers expressing positive feelings towards disabled students compared to teachers expressing negative feelings. It will be interesting to verify the influence of positive representation of professional role on the perception of disabled subjects in other caretakers involved in the management of disability