Use of the Acceptance Scale to Measure Attitudes of Kindergarten-Age Children

Abstract

The Acceptance Scale for Kindergartners (ASK) was developed to assess the attitudes of kindergarten-age children toward children with disabilities. It was administered to 188 kindergarten children, some of whom had contact with children with disabilities in their school and others of whom did not have contact. The ASK provided evidence of criterion-related validity by discriminating (a) between children who did and did not have contact with children with disabilities in their schools and (b) between male and female respondents. Children who had contact with individuals with disabilities were significantly more accepting than children who did not. Girls were significantly more accepting than boys. An overall alpha coefficient of .79 and a Spearman-Brown Split Half coefficient of .76 were found, suggesting that the ASK is reliable for children of this age.