Date of Award
2000
Document Type
Thesis
Publisher
Edith Cowan University
Degree Name
Bachelor of Education Honours
School
School of Education
Faculty
Faculty of Community Services, Education and Social Sciences
First Supervisor
Dr Russell Waugh
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to examine children’s attitudes towards Aboriginal and Non-Aboriginal peers with Conduct Disorder. A 2 x 2 x 2 factorial design was used to test the hypotheses. The three independent variables were: (a) Ethnicity of the target student (aboriginal/ Non-Aboriginal) described in a vignette, (b) disability or the target student (no disability/ conduct disorder) described in a vignette; and (c) the gender of the participants. A sample of 216 Year 6 students was divided into four groups each containing 27 girls and 27 boys and an attitude questionnaire was administered. The attitude survey measured two dependent variables (a) attitude to working with the target student in class, and (b) attitude to socialising with the target student in school. The two dependent variables measured the extent to which the students would like to interact with the target child in the two contexts. There were no significant interactions. A significant main effect was found for the variable of ethnicity for the (a) working-in-class variable but not for the variable (b) socialising-in-school context, indicating that the participants displayed a more positive attitude toward the target student who was described as Aboriginal in the socialising-at-school context rather than the target student who was described as Aboriginal in the working-in-class context. A main effect was found for the independent variable of conduct disorder for both contexts, indicating that the participants displayed a more positive attitude toward the target student who did not display the behaviours typical of a child with a conduct disorder than the child who did. There was no significant difference between the responses of the male and female participants.
Recommended Citation
van Wyk, N. (2000). Boys' and Girls' Attitudes to Aboriginal and Non-Aboriginal Students With Conduct Disorder. Edith Cowan University. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses_hons/864