مقايسه نگرش دانش آموزان ايراني و آمريكايي نسبت به دوستي با دانش آموزان ناتوان

Comparison of the attitudes of Iranian and American high school students toward their disabled counterparts

The purpose of the current study was to compare the attitudes of Iranian and American high school students toward the possibility of and how to facilitate friendships between students with severe disabilities and their non-disabled counterparts. Thus, the results of the two studies conducted by Hendrickson, Shokoohi - Yekta, Nietupski, and Gable (1996) and Kavoosi (1998) were compared. Overall, data collected from 289 Iranian students and 656 American students were used. Both groups of subjects were in the range of 13 to 19 years of age and were comprised of both males and ,females.. The . Student Friendship Perception Survey (SFPS) was utilized. Results indicated that, despite some common perceptions about these friendships, some significant differences exist. Both groups of subjects believed that friendships with students with severe disabilities are possible and that they were willing to make efforts for such friendships to happen. To facilitate friendships, American students emphasized the role of adults in general, whereas Iranian students focused on the role of professionals. At the end, . possible explanations of the results are discussed, and applications and suggestions for future research are presented.