Occupational Therapy Faculty Attitudes toward the Inclusion of Students with Disabilities in Their Educational Programs

This study investigated the attitudes of occupational therapy (OT) and occupational therapy assistant (OTA) educators toward the inclusion of students with disabilities in their educational programs. A nonexperimental design relying on a mailed survey was the methodology selected to examine the following research questions: (1) What are the attitudes of full-time OT and OTA educators who teach in accredited programs in the United States toward inclusion of students with disabilities in their OT programs? and (2) What factors are predictive of positive attitudes of OT faculty towards including students with disabilities in their educational programs? Results indicated that overall OT and OTA faculty have favorable attitudes toward including students with disabilities in their programs. However, consistent with the literature, these attitudes are hierarchical. In other words, attitudes toward inclusion of students with disabilities are different depending on the nature of the disability. Implications for future research are discussed.