The effects of an integrated outdoor education and recreation program on the attitudes of nondisabled middle and high school students toward their disabled peers

Author

Julia Kershaw Higley

Date of Award

8-1995

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science

Major

Recreation and Leisure Studies

Major Professor

Gene A. Hayes

Committee Members

Mary Dale Blanton, Sky Huck

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to measure the effects of an Integrated outdoor education and recreation program on the attitudes of nondisabled middle and high school students toward their disabled peers. Two sub-problems were also investigated: the effects of gender and the effects of various teaching methods on the attitudes of the nondisabled toward the disabled. There were 28 subjects involved in the study; 14 in the treatment group, and 14 in the control group. The subjects were middle and high school students recruited from the Christian Academy of Knoxville and a home school group. The ages of the subjects ranged from 10-18, and there were 16 females and 12 males. The control group and treatment group were matched based on their age, gender, and pretest scores on the ATDP scale. The Attitudes Toward Disabled Persons (ATDP) scale-Form B, developed by Yuker, Block, and Younng in 1970, was used to measure the attitudes of the participants in this study. The ATDP was administered to the treatment and control group at three different times over the course of the program. Both groups were given the pretest before the program started. After the treatment group had completed a series of training sessions educating them and preparing them for the camp experience, both groups were given the midtest. The post-test was administered to both groups after the treatment group returned from the week-long Camp Koinonia where they were matched with a same-age, same-gender disabled peer. The control group received no training and did not attend the week-long camp experience. The scores on the ATDP scale were analyzed for differences in the treatment group and the control group, differences in the treatment group after exposure to two different teaching methods, and differences in gender. Although many interesting patterns evolved, no significant differences were found at the .05 level.

Recommended Citation

Higley, Julia Kershaw, "The effects of an integrated outdoor education and recreation program on the attitudes of nondisabled middle and high school students toward their disabled peers. " Master's Thesis, University of Tennessee, 1995.
https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_gradthes/11150