The Effect of Instruction on Music Educators' Attitudes toward Students with Disabilities

Abstract

Before and after completing a university course for teaching music to special education learners, master's-level music education students ( N = 18) were given a measure examining their attitudes toward students with disabilities. The survey instrument consisted of 20 statements describing five different groups of students; these were learners with emotional, physical, multiple, mental, or no impairments. The participants were directed to indicate strength of agreement or disagreement with the following statements: “I would feel comfortable in interacting with this individual,” “I would be willing to work with this individual,” and “I would feel capable in working professionally with this individual.” Results showed an increase in the participants' responses to the statement “I would feel more capable in working professionally” but a statistically significant decrease ( p < . 05) to the statement “I would be willing to work” with special-needs learners after the completion of training.