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ADAPTED PHYSICAL ACTIVITY QUARTERLY, 1995,12,323-332

O 1995 Human Kinetics Publishers. Inc.

Contact Theory and Attitudes of Children in


Physical Education Programs Toward Peers
With Disabilities
April Tripp
Baltimore County Public Schools

Ron French
and Claudine Sherrill
Texas Woman's University

Contact theory was examined by comparing total and subscale attitude scores
of children toward peers with disabilities (physical, learning, behavioral) in
integrated (contact) and segregated (noncontact) physical education settings.
Subjects were 455 children ages 9 to 12 years; class size was 40 to 45.
Data were collected using the Peer Attitudes Toward the Handicapped Scale
(PATHS). ANOVA on total attitude scores indicated gender differences,
with girls having more positive attitudes, but no difference between settings.
MANOVA on subscale attitude scores revealed gender differences, favoring
girls, only on the physical disability subscale. Setting significantly affected
attitudes toward physical and behavioral disabilities but not learning disabilities. Children in the integrated setting had significantly more positive
attitudes toward peers with behavioral disabilities than those in the segregated
setting, but the reverse was true toward peers with physical disabilities.
Contact theory was supported by this research for only behavioral disability.

One of the benefits that is supposed to accrue through integration of students


with disabilities into regular physical education programs is positive attitudinal
changes by nondisabled students (Block & Vogler, 1994; Sherrill, HeikinaroJohansson, & Slininger, 1994; Watkinson & Titus, 1984).This benefit is supported
by contact theory (Allport, 1935; Amir, 1969), which posits that interaction
between individuals with differences tends to produce changes in attitudes. However, contact theory in physical education has primarily been supported by philosophical rather than empirical foundations (Broadhead, 1985; Craft & Hogan,
1985; Sherrill, 1985; Shenill et al., 1994). Although physical education is one
of the primary curricular areas to experience integration (McClenaghan, 1981),
little research has been conducted on contact theory and elementary school
April Tripp is with Baltimore County Public Schools, 6901 Charles St., Baltimore,
MD 21204. Ron French and Claudine Sherrill are with the Kinesiology Department, Texas
Woman's University, Denton, TX 76204.

324

Tripp, French, and Shemy1

physical education. Theory-based research in attitude formation is thus needed


to provide a framework for understanding the effects of factors such as type of
disability, gender, class size, appropriateintegration practices, and the relationship
between attitude and behavior (Tripp & Sherrill, 1991).
Since 1935, many theories have been proposed to explain how attitudes
toward people with disabilities are formed (Donaldson, 1980; Home, 1985; Jones,
1984; Lehrer, 1983; Livneh, 1982). Most attitude theorists agree that contact is
an important dimension in attitude formation (Ajzen & Fishbein, 1980; Allport,
1935; Amir, 1969; Rees, 1985; Yuker, 1988).
The direction of attitude change depends largely on the conditions under
which contact has taken place; "favorable" conditions tend to produce positive
attitude shifts, while "unfavorable" conditions tend to produce negative attitude
shifts (Allport, 1935; Amir, 1969). Favorable conditions that tend to improve
relations and foster positive attitudes often involve contacts that (a) engender
equal status, (b) are rewarding to individuals with and without disabilities, (c)
involve common goals that are higher ranking than group goals, and (d) persist
over time (Allport, 1935). Conversely, contact can lead to negative attitudes
when (a) there is competition between groups; (b) the environment is unpleasant,
involuntary, and/or tension laden; and (c) group members as a whole are frustrated.
Thus far, researchers who have tested contact theory have assumed that
favorable conditions characterize regular physical education settings. However,
findings in regard to contact have been mixed. Kisabeth and Richardson (1985)
reported no significant difference between pretest and posttest attitude scores of
41 nondisabled college students who were in frequent contact with a peer with
a physical disability in an instructional racquetball class. Stewart (1988), in
contrast, reported that contact with two college students with disabilities integrated
into a weight training course for 15 weeks produced significant attitude improvements for 15 nondisabled students.
The influence of contact on attitudes of young children in daily physical
education has been examined by Archie and Sherrill (1989), who compared
attitudes of 143 fifth- and sixth-grade students in a mainstreamed school with
attitudes of 86 students in a nonmainstreamed school. In the mainstreamed school,
3 or more students with mental, physical, or sensory disabilities were in each
physical education class. No significant differences were reported on overall
attitude score, but an item-by-item analysis revealed that children in a mainstreamed setting rated peers with disabilities as significantly more fun and more
interesting than did students in a nonmainstrearned setting.
Other related research shows conflicting findings with elementary school
children in classroom settings. Hazzard (1983) and Voeltz (1982) reported that
girls had significantly more positive attitudes than boys toward peers with disabilities, but other investigators have reported no gender differences (Gottlieb &
Gottlieb, 1977; Parish, Ohlsen, & Parish, 1978). Two studies indicated that type
of disability made a difference in children's attitudes and that peers with physical
disabilities were rated significantly more favorably than those with other disabilities (Gottlieb & Gottlieb, 1977; Parish et al., 1978). The latter study reported
that children with emotional disabilities were rated the least favorably. It is not
clear whether these results generalize to physical activity settings.
Despite the limited research on integrating children with and without disabilities in physical education classes (Block & Vogler, 1994; Sherrill et al.,

Attitudes

325

1994), administrators continue to place students with disabilities in regular physical education classes. A body of knowledge is evolving about attitudes of teachers
toward students with disabilities (Rizzo, 1984, 1985; Rizzo & Vispoel, 1991;
Rizzo & Wright, 1987) which indicates that type of disability, teacher gender,
and class size may make a difference. Therefore, it seems logical that these same
variables, as well as others, may affect students' attitudes. The primary purpose
of this study, therefore, was to compare elementary school children in integrated
(contact) and segregated (noncontact) physical education classes on attitudes
toward peers, utilizing the PATHS total and subscale scores related to three types
of disabilities (physical, learning, and behavioral). The secondary purpose was
to compare attitudes of boys and girls.

Method
Subjects
The research was conducted in two public elementary schools in a northeast
Texas city (population 26,260). The integrated school was chosen because it had
a program for students with disabilities and because, by virtue of administrative
decision, the only time during the school day these students were integrated into
a regular program was during physical education. The segregated elementary
school selected did not have a program for students with disabilities but did have
students with socioeconomic backgrounds and achievement levels similar to the
students in the first school.
Subjects were 119 girls and 107 boys in the integrated setting and 122
girls and 107 boys in the segregated setting. All subjects were ages 9 to 12 years.
Subjects from these two settings had to meet the following criteria to be included
in the study: (a) had never received special education services; (b) had no known
physical, emotional, or sensory disabilities; (c) could read at fourth-grade level
or above; (d) had parental or guardian permission to participate; and (e) regularly
attended physical education 5 days a week for 30 min each day. The primary
investigator used school records to screen the subjects. A total of 226 students
in integrated physical education and 229 students in segregated physical education
were eligible for the study.
The integrated school physical education program included 21 children
with disabilities in Grades 4 to 6. Of those 21 children, 7 had physical disabilities,
10 had learning disabilities, and 4 had behavior disabilities. Thus, the potential
for interactions with individuals with various disabilities was not equal. Physical
education classes ranged in size from 40 to 45 nondisabled students and 3 to 4
students with disabilities. The usual class ratio was about 10:l. The physical
education teacher was female, was 38 years old, held a valid teaching credential
in physical education, had taught elementary physical education for 15 years,
and had a female paraprofessional to assist with the program full time.
The segregated school physical education program had no students with
identified disabilities enrolled. The physical education teacher was female, was
41 years old, held a valid teaching credential in physical education, had been
teaching elementary physical education for 17 years, and had one full-time female
paraprofessional to assist with the program. Physical education classes ranged
in size from 40 to 45 students.

Tripp, French, and Sherrill

326

Instrument
The Peer Attitudes Toward the Handicapped Scale (PATHS) (Bagley & Green,
1981) was the data collection instrument. It was designed for use in school
settings to measure the attitudes of youths 9 to 16 years old toward their peers
with disabilities. The purpose of PATHS is to measure expressed attitudes toward
disabilities as students make qualitative judgments about behavior descriptions.
PATHS is based on the theory that the success of teaching students with and
without disabilities in the same setting depends to some extent upon the development and maintenance of positive attitudes toward students with disabilities on
the part of the nondisabled students (Bagley & Green, 1981).
The authors of PATHS provide evidence of adequate construct validity
and reliability based on data gathered from a standardization sample of 756
students, ages 9 to 16 years. Construct validity was reported, based on factor
analysis and on intercorrelations between subscales and correlations between
subscale scores and total scores. Correlations with the demographic variables of
grade, age, gender, school location, and school type were not statistically significant, indicating the independence of the score with respect to these variables.
The test manual reported a reliability coefficient of r = .85 and .75 for an odd/
even split and a first-halflsecond-half split, respectively.
PATHS requires that students read 30 short statements describing behaviors
that are seen sometimes in school-aged youths with disabilities. Each of the items
describes a hypothetical student who has a physical disability, learning difficulties,
or behavior problems. After reading the statement, the student circles the number
that best describes his or her placement through the use of a Likert-type scale.
Five responses are arranged according to most receptive attitude (in my group)
toward a student with a disability to least receptive attitude (at home). Following
is an example item:
Item 10-Michael is partially deaf in both ears. He wears a hearing aid
and has difficulty saying words. His speech sounds different, which makes
him hard to understand.
This student should work
5-in my group
4--in another group
3-in no group
2--outside of class
1-at home (Bagley & Green, 1981, p. 3)
In my group is worth 5 points, in another group is worth 4 points, in no
group is worth 3 points, outside of class is worth 2 points, and a t home is worth
1 point. The ratings for each of the 30 items are totaled. A high score reflects a
positive attitude toward peers with disabilities, and a low score reflects a negative
attitude toward peers with disabilities. The highest score is 150, while the lowest
possible score is 30.
PATHS contains three subscales: physical, learning, and behavioral. The
physical subscale describes disabilities that are physiological in nature. Examples
of physical conditions included are blindness, deafness, cerebral palsy, and heart
conditions. The learning subscale relates to areas such as study skills, difficulty

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327

with school subjects, learning rate, fluency in reading, and other learning skills.
Moderately serious problems are depicted. The behavioral subscale pertains to
serious emotional and psychological difficulties. Students with aggressive behavior in classroom settings are included in this classification.

Procedures
PATHS was administered by the regular physical education teacher according
to the administration procedures outlined in the PATHS handbook (Bagley &
Green, 1981). The primary investigator trained the physical educators on instrumentation and was present to see that all procedures were followed exactly. Data
collection time was limited to the 30-min class period.
The research design was quasiexperimental (ex post facto design) in that
real-world intact groups were used. The dependent variable was attitude toward
disabled peers (total and subscore attitudes), and the independent variable was
contact with children with disabilities in a physical education setting. No pretest
was administered. Analysis of variance was used to examine the influence of
age, years in specific setting, and gender. Multivariate analysis of variance was
used to examine attitudes toward different disabling conditions. The alpha level
was set at .05 and corrected by the Bonferroni technique to .017 to minimize
experiment-wise error rate (Thomas & Nelson, 1990).
The integrated and segregated settings were similar on many variables:
class size, gender, age, years of experience of teacher, and presence of teacher
and paraprofessional. Instruction in both the integrated and segregated classes
was guided by the Essential Elements curriculum mandated by the state education
agency. However, a limitation of ex post facto designs is the inability to control
or match all variables that might affect student attitude. Among the uncontrolled
variables were day-to-day teacher and student behaviors and interactions, the
specific content taught, and discipline measures applied.

Results
The means for PATHS total for the integrated and segregated groups were quite
similar, 90.70 and 92.44, respectively. Based on the standardization sample used
by Bagley and Green (1981), these means can be interpreted as representing
average attitude for all groups (see Table 1).
One-way analyses of variance indicated there were no significant differences for the means of PATHS total score when grouped by four age groups,
F(3,451) = 1.54, p = .20, and 6 possible years of contact in the specific setting,
F(5, 220) = 1.38, p = .23. Therefore, it was decided not to use these as grouping
factors in further statistical analyses.
A 2 x 2 analysis of variance (Setting x Gender) was used to examine
differences between the means of the total PATHS scores. Gender of the subjects
did make a significant difference when the means of PATHS total scores were
compared, F(l, 451) = 6.17, p < .01. Females had a significantly higher mean
score for PATHS total than their male peers (see Table 1).
The means of the subscale scores for physical, learning, and behavior
disabilities across physical education setting and gender (see Table I), if put in

Tripp, French, and Sherrill

328

Table 1 PATHS Total and Subscale Attitude Scores


Setting

Subscale

Range

Integrated
Total (n = 226)

Physical
Learning
Behavior
Girls (n = 119)
Physical
Learning
Behavior
Total
Boys (n = 107)
Physical
Learning
Behavior
Total
Segregated
Total (n = 229)

Physical
Learning
Behavior
Girls (n = 122)
Physical
Learning
Behavior
Total
Boys (n = 107)
Physical
Learning
Behavior
Total
Note. PATHS total score by gender was females, M = 93.52; SD = 18.49; males, M =
89.38, SD = 16.69.

rank order, indicate that the physical subscale had the high score, the learning
subscale was the middle value, and the behavior subscale was lowest. A 2 x 2
multivariate analysis of variance (Setting x Gender) was conducted to determine
whether attitudes toward different disabilities were significant. The overall multivariate F value was significant for the physical education setting, F(3, 449) =
15.76, p c .01. The dependent variables that contributed to differences between
physical education settings were the physical, F(l, 451) = 16.70, p < .01, and
behavioral, F(l, 451) = 11.59,~
< .Ol, disability subscales. Post hoc tests revealed
that for setting, students who attended the integrated physical education program

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329

had significantly poorer attitudes toward peers with physical disabilities and
signif~cantlybetter attitudes toward peers with behavioral disabilities than did
those stadents attending a segregated physical education program. However,
those students attending an integrated physical education program had significantly better attitudes toward peers with behavioral disabilities than those attending a segregated physical education program.
The overall multivariateF value was also significant for gender, F(3,449) =
3.96, p < .01. The only contribution to differences between gender was made by
the physical disability subscale, F ( l , 45 1) = 10.13, p < .01. Post hoc tests revealed
that for gender, girls had significantly better attitudes toward peers with physical
disabilities than did boys.

Discussion
In this study no differences in overall attitudes toward peers with disabilities were
apparent between the children who participated in an integrated and segregated
physical education setting with regard to their total attitude score on PATHS.
This finding supports other research which reveals that children who attend an
integrated school program do not view peers with disabilities differently than do
children attending a segregated school program (Archie & Sherrill, 1989; Weinberg, 1978). All such research, like the present study, has employed an ex post
facto design. This means that two naturalistic settings are compared just as they
are because it is not possible to randomly assign students to schools or teachers. In
ex post facto designs, differencesbetween groups are described but a cause-effect
relationship cannot be proven (Thomas & Nelson, 1990). Instead, it is simply
observed that certain attitudes are associated with integrated and segregated
physical education settings.
The findings of the present study seem to indicate that contact with children
with disabilities in a physical education setting is not associated with overall or
total attitude toward disabilities. Yuker (1988) concluded that contact between
individuals with and without disabilities must be direct and personal to produce
positive attitudes. Weinberg (1978) reported that very intense contact situations
are needed to cause major attitude changes in children. Establishing close contact
situations in physical education classes of approximately 40 children without
disabilities and 3 or 4 children with disabilities can be difficult (Rider, 1980).
There was a difference between girls and boys with respect to overall
attitude scores toward peers with disabilities. Several researchers support the
finding that whether children are in integrated or segregated environments, girls
have generally demonstrated more favorable attitudes toward peers with disabilities than have boys (Hazzard, 1983; Voeltz, 1982).
When the PATHS subscale scores for disability type are examined independently, significant differences are revealed. The children who attended the integrated physical education program had significantly lower attitudes toward
physical disability (M = 38.28) than those attending a segregated physical education program (M = 42.07). The children attendingthe integrated physical education
program may perceive contact with their peers with physical disabilities as negative. According to contact theory, a factor that may foster negative attitude
formation is competition (Arnir, 1969). In general, most physical education classes

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Tripp, French, and Sherrill

contain competition to some degree, whether it be with oneself or with others.


The existence of competition that is not modified to be equitable for all children
in physical education may be a bamer to the formation of positive attitudes
toward peers with disabilities. An analysis of the types of teaching methods and
activities that might best stimulate positive attitudes in an integrated physical
education setting is recommended for future study.
Children in the integrated setting viewed peers with behavioral disabilities
more favorably (M = 21.05) than did those in a segregated setting (M = 19.51).
It is difficult to interpret this finding since the reverse occurred in relation to
peers with physical disabilities. However, this finding could be attributed to the
specific children in the integrated physical educationprogram, since there were
no controls on the characteristics of these children. Contact theory posits that
settings which emphasize the normality of the person with a disability are associated with positive attitude formation (Amir, 1969). Children in the integrated
physical education setting may view their peers with behavioral disabilities as
more normal and capable in the physical education setting than those peers with
visible physical disabilities. It is also possible that the children without disabilities
in this A d y thought that their peers with behavioral disabilities were entertaining
in their various classroom disruptions and liked their presence in class.
Children with learning disabilities were viewed similarly, but not significantly so, by children in the integrated physical education program (M = 31.30)
and children in the segregated physical education program (M = 30.86). Instructional environment plays an important role in the quality of the contact between
individuals (Amir, 1969). An organized and low-stress climate versus a climate
of frustration may influence the attitudes of children toward peers with learning
disabilities. An analysis of the environmental factors within the physical education
setting that facilitate positive interactions between children with and without
disabilities is recommended for future study.
The PATHS subscale scores indicate a definite preference of one disabling
condition over another. The finding that all the groups viewed peers (see Table
1) with a physical disability more favorably than the other two disabilities (learning and behavior) was expected. Peers with learning disabilities were preferred
second and peers with behavioral disabilities were preferred the least. In previous
research, when children were asked to state a preference between peers with
physical, learning, or behavioral disabilities, peers with physical disabilities were
evaluated more favorably than peers with the other two conditions (Gottlieb &
Gottlieb, 1977; Parish et al., 1978). Positive attitude formation also has been
associated with contact that is supported by societal and institutional norms
(Amir, 1969; Yuker, 1988). It is possible that as a society we do not portray
different disabilities in the same light. Information in the form of facts, hearsay,
rumors, prestige associations, gestures, and appearance that is transmitted through
all types of media may be more favorable in relation to physical disabilities than
learning and behavioral disabilities. An analysis of the social interactions and
information that facilitate the development of positive attitudes toward peers with
different disability types is therefore recommended for future study.
Applying theories and understanding the nature of children's disabilityrelated attitudes is a complicated issue. Results of research concerned with overall
global attitudes of children without disabilities toward their peers with disabilities
have been equivocal. Conversely, examination of specific dimensions such as

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disability subscale scores shows a definite hierarchy of attitude preferences. These


findings support the possibility of multidimensionality in attitudes similar to the
belief that self-concept is not the sum of all its parts but rather a multifaceted
structure that becomes increasingly complex (Fox & Corbin, 1989;Harter, 1985).
This evidence suggests that to further investigate integration in physical education
as a factor influencing attitude change in nondisabled children, researchers must
differentiate between global and specific dimensions of attitude, as well as exarnine environmental and methodological conditions in the physical education program-

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