ERIC Number: EJ917789
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2011-Apr
Pages: 13
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1356-2517
EISSN: N/A
Student Attitudes toward Impairment: An Assessment of Passive and Active Learning Methods in Urban Planning Education
Lewis, John L.
Teaching in Higher Education, v16 n2 p237-249 Apr 2011
Designing for the needs of people with impairments has rarely been a significant feature of urban planning theory and education. Given the role of urban planners as shapers of the built environment and public policy, the prevalence of negative and misinformed attitudes among planners toward impaired populations has been highlighted as requiring study. This paper reports on the effectiveness of lecture-based awareness training and active impairment simulation activities with regard to their respective influence on the attitudes of urban planning students toward people with impairments. Using an established attitude assessment instrument (the Attitudes Toward Disablement Scale), pre and post-awareness training data were collected from 200 urban planning students. Results suggest that awareness training can result in significant attitude changes while, contrary to published literature and prior assumptions, impairment simulations have a moderate effect on student attitudes. The paper concludes with recommendations for planning education and professional practice. (Contains 3 tables.)
Descriptors: Urban Planning, Student Attitudes, Active Learning, Public Policy, Attitudes toward Disabilities, Higher Education, Foreign Countries, Simulation, Accessibility (for Disabled), Models, Effect Size, Statistical Significance, Scores
Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 325 Chestnut Street Suite 800, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Fax: 215-625-2940; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Canada
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A