Including Children With Disability in Physical Education: General and Specific Attitudes of High-School Students

The purpose of this study was to validate an Israeli version of the Children's Attitude towards Inclusion in Physical Education (CAIPE) scale (Block, 1995). Participants were 120 high school students from grades 9, 11, and 12. Twenty-five students participated in sport classes and the others were regular students. A modified version of the Attitudes Toward Including Students with Disability in Physical Education ATISD-PE questionnaire was used as a measure of concurrent  validity. Results indicated a bi-factorial structure with moderate to adequate Cronbach's Alpha reliability of the general and sport-specific sub-scales of the CAIPE, respectively. No difference in attitude was found between children who participated in sport classes and those who did not. Children who had previous exposure to children with disability exhibited reduced willingness toward including them in physical education classes. Previous exposure did not appear to have an effect on peers' attitudes toward including children with disability in basketball.