Evidence concerning pupils' preconceptions of intellectual disability in the context of the paradigm shift in today's education

This dissertation thesis is designed as a theoretical and research survey focusing on the currently marginalised issue of intact pupils' preconceptions of intellectual disability. The survey aims to outline the concept of intellectual disability concisely and to accentuate the current paradigm shift in education with regards to integration and inclusion. Particular attention was paid to the theoretical and epistemological basis of preconceptions as well as to the current state of scientific knowledge of the presented area. Research was conducted in order to analyse and characterise intact pupils' preconceptions of intellectual disability. Furthermore, the empirical study aimed to determine whether pupils' preconceptions differ depending on their gender, year of school attended and the declared experience of persons with intellectual disability. A transversal quantitative survey was conducted at 22 mainstream basic schools in the Czech Republic. The research sample consisted of 2230 intact pupils attending the 5th , 7th and 9th forms of basic schools. Data were collected by means of mind mapping and non-standardised questionnaire of our own construction. The findings demonstrate that pupils perceive the phenomenon of intellectual disability in terms of medical paradigm (emphasising the..