Do contacts make a difference?: The effects of mainstreaming on student attitudes toward people with disabilities

This article examines the effects of mainstreaming on the attitudes of non-disabled students, in a secondary school, toward people with disabilities. Responses from 389 Form 1 and Form 2 students were analyzed. A 47-item Students’ Attitudes toward People with a Disability Scale was used to measure student attitudes at the beginning and end of the school year. The effect of educational intervention and daily classroom contacts on student attitudes was examined. The competitive and achievement orientation of Hong Kong's educational environment poses formidable barriers to the adoption of effective inclusive practices in the classroom. The results of this study indicate that educational intervention outside the classroom has a small effect in changing students’ attitudes.