Short- and Medium-Term Impacts of the 'Just Like You' Disability Awareness Program: A Quasi-Experimental Comparison of Alternative Forms of Program Delivery in New South Wales' Primary Schools

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Title: Short- and Medium-Term Impacts of the 'Just Like You' Disability Awareness Program: A Quasi-Experimental Comparison of Alternative Forms of Program Delivery in New South Wales' Primary Schools
Language: English
Authors: Lloyd, Adam, Smith, Maxwell, Dempsey, Ian, Fischetti, John (ORCID 0000-0003-4797-5254), Amos, Kirsten
Source: Australian Journal of Education. Nov 2017 61(3):288-304.
Availability: SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: http://sagepub.com
Peer Reviewed: Y
Page Count: 17
Publication Date: 2017
Document Type: Journal Articles
Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Education
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Elementary Schools, Attitudes toward Disabilities, Consciousness Raising, Program Effectiveness, Inclusion, Elementary School Students, Student Attitudes, Intervention, Attitude Change, Students with Disabilities
Geographic Terms: Australia
DOI: 10.1177/0004944117730649
ISSN: 0004-9441
Abstract: Given the demands for inclusive and more equitable education, this evaluation compared two versions of the "Just Like You" disability awareness program delivered in primary schools in New South Wales, Australia, by Cerebral Palsy Alliance. Participants included 297 students from three schools in the Hunter region in the established program and 327 students from four schools in the Sydney region in the newer version of the program. Compared with the established program, the new format comprised a single presenter with a disability, two shorter sessions (rather than one long session) delivered at least one week apart, revised content mapped to the Australian rather than the NSW curriculum and a non-compulsory 'homework' activity offered at the discretion of the presenter. Longitudinal data included three successive administrations (i.e. pre-test, post-test and delayed follow-up) of the Chedoke-McMaster Attitudes towards Children with Handicaps scale. Quasi-experimental comparisons produced intake-adjusted effect sizes favouring the newer program over the established program both in terms of post-test (d = 0.47) and delayed follow-up (d = 0.42) Chedoke-McMaster Attitudes towards Children with Handicaps scores. The program evaluation demonstrated the efficacy and sustainability of effects in this short-term focussed disability awareness intervention, with the newer version producing greater improvements in student attitudinal change towards people with a disability than the established version.
Abstractor: As Provided
Entry Date: 2021
Accession Number: EJ1282429
Database: ERIC
Description
Abstract:Given the demands for inclusive and more equitable education, this evaluation compared two versions of the "Just Like You" disability awareness program delivered in primary schools in New South Wales, Australia, by Cerebral Palsy Alliance. Participants included 297 students from three schools in the Hunter region in the established program and 327 students from four schools in the Sydney region in the newer version of the program. Compared with the established program, the new format comprised a single presenter with a disability, two shorter sessions (rather than one long session) delivered at least one week apart, revised content mapped to the Australian rather than the NSW curriculum and a non-compulsory 'homework' activity offered at the discretion of the presenter. Longitudinal data included three successive administrations (i.e. pre-test, post-test and delayed follow-up) of the Chedoke-McMaster Attitudes towards Children with Handicaps scale. Quasi-experimental comparisons produced intake-adjusted effect sizes favouring the newer program over the established program both in terms of post-test (d = 0.47) and delayed follow-up (d = 0.42) Chedoke-McMaster Attitudes towards Children with Handicaps scores. The program evaluation demonstrated the efficacy and sustainability of effects in this short-term focussed disability awareness intervention, with the newer version producing greater improvements in student attitudinal change towards people with a disability than the established version.
ISSN:0004-9441
DOI:10.1177/0004944117730649