The Effect of 14-Week Inclusive Physical Activity Program on Attitudes in Primary School Students

The aim of this research is to investigate the effect of 14-week Inclusive Physical Activity (IPA) program on the attitudes of primary school students with typical development (TD) toward peers with disabilities. Analysis was conducted on a total of 38 students with TD, including 23 girls (age: 9.47±0.510) and 15 boys (age: 9.6±0.507). Prior approval was obtained from the families of all participants. The students participated in IPA program that was scheduled for 14 weeks, 1 day a week for 75 minutes. Attitudes were measured using the Adjective Checklist and a friendship activity scale (FAS) before and after the 14-week BUFA program. Wilcoxon test was employed to investigate the statistically significant difference between FAS and scores obtained from the Adjective Checklist of the students with TD post the 14-week BUFA program. Additionally, the Mann–Whitney U test was conducted to determine whether there was a statistically significant difference between the attitudes of boys and girls. As a result, it was established that there is a statistically significant positive change in the attitudes of primary school students with TD through participation in IPA program (p<.05). On the contrary, when the effect of gender on attitudes was examined, no statistically significant difference was observed in the attitude changes of male and female students (p>0.05). As a result; It was found that there was a positive change in the attitude of the peers who participated in IPA environment towards children with special needs. 

Cite this article as: Sansi A, Güleç İ, Nalbant S. The Effect of 14-Week Inclusive Physical Activity Program on Attitudes in Primary School Students. Research in Sports Science 2019; 9(1); 1-4.