Development and validation of the pre-service physical education and sports teachers' attitudes toward children with intellectual disabilities: Malatya example

Aim: The purpose of the current study was to examine the attitudes of physical education and sports teacher candidates' towards mentally disabled individuals. Material and Method: In this research, descriptive scanning model, one of the quantitative research methods, was used to determine the attitude levels of physical education and sports teachers candidates towards mentally disabled children. In order to determine the attitude levels of the participants, the Attitude Scale for Mentally Handicapped Children (ZEÇYTÖ) developed by Büşra SÜNGÜ was used. The scale was applied to 168 students (100 males,68 females) using the Google Form method due to the Covid-19 outbreak. Results: According to the findings of the research, there was no significant difference in the attitude scores of the participants according to gender, having a disabled person, working experience with disabled people, class and department variables (p> 0.05); However, a significant difference was found in the variablescof age, taking lessons aboutdisabled people and willingness to work with disabled people (p <0.05). Conclusion: According to the findings obtained from the study, when the attitude scores of physical education and sports teacher candidates towards mentally disabled children were examined, a significant difference was seen in terms of some variables, but no significant difference was found in terms of some variables. Keywords: Attitudes, Children with Intellectual Disabilities, Physical Education Teacher