The Attitudes of Different Partners Involved in Higher Education towards Students with Disabilities

Abstract

In this article we analyse the inclusion of students with disabilities in the field of university attendance, emphasising the importance of attitudes of teachers as well as the rest of the university community as a whole for inclusion to be successful. The effect of variables of gender, education and training and contact with students with disabilities on these attitudes is also detailed. A scale was applied to assess attitudes towards disabilities to 2671 participants, including students with and without disabilities, teachers and administrative and services staff from the Faculty of Education in a University in Southern Spain. The results show that in general, the university community has positive attitudes towards students with disabilities, with differences according to the group, with university teachers having the most favourable attitudes. The results are discussed and suggestions for future research are offered.

Keywords:

• Attitudes
• disability
• education
• inclusive education
• students
• students with disabilities
• university
• university teachers

Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful for its collaboration and that of all the people who took part in this research. We appreciate the cooperation of the University of Granada.