CHILDREN’S ATTITUDES TOWARDS INCLUSION OF VISUALLY IMPAIRED PUPIL IN PHYSICAL EDUCATION LESSONS FROM THE POINT OF PUPILS’ EXPERIENCE

Abstract

The aim of the study was to investigate the attitudes of Slovak able-bodied pupils towards the inclusion of pupil with visual impairment in physical education (P.E.) classes from the point of pupils’ experience. The research sample comprised a total of 419 able-bodied primary school pupils of the 6th to 9th grade, divided into pupils with experience with a visually impaired person (n=96) and without experience (n=323). The CAIPE-CZ was translated into the Slovak language and modified for the inclusion of visually impaired pupil in physical education lessons. The Non-parametric Mann-Whitney U-test was used to assess differences in children’s attitudes between children with experience versus children without experience. Attitudes of able-bodied pupils towards the inclusion of pupils with visual impairment in P.E. lessons were only indifferent to very slightly positive in both samples according to their previous experience with a visually impaired person in their lives. Despite these findings, able-bodied pupils without previous experience with a visually impaired person compared pupils with experience show significantly higher positive attitudes towards visually impaired pupil in P.E. classes in the field of cooperation, willingness to help, socialization, and rules modification of sports games.