Role of School Environment in Reducing Stigmatization of Students with Disabilities

Abstract

The primary goal of the study was to examine the role of school environment in reducing stigmatization of students with disabilities. This study used a descriptive survey design to meet its goals. The participants in this study are included all of the male and female teachers of special education schools at secondary level from the divisions of Multan, Bahawalpur, DG Khan and Sahiwal. The researcher employed the census sampling technique to choose the sample because the population was small. So, all the 144 teachers (80 male and 64 female) working in special education at secondary level were selected as a sample. Similarly, all the students of special education from the divisions of Multan, Bahawalpur, Dg khan and Sahiwal were included in the population. As the population of the students was large, so the researcher employed the stratified random sampling technique .Finally, 881 students (542 male and 339 female) of special education school at secondary level were selected in sample. Self- structured questionnaires comprising 25 items (for teachers) and 15 items (for students) were used to investigate the role of school environment in reducing stigmatization of students with disabilities. One hundred and forty four questionnaires were provided to the teachers and 144 were returned. Similarly, eight hundred and eighty one questionnaires were provided to the students and 881were returned. Using SPSS, the researcher analyzed the data of 144 teachers and 881 students using both descriptive and inferential statistical techniques. Results revealed school environment has significant role in reducing stigmatization of students with disabilities.