| Scope of Study. The primary purpose of this study was to investigate the attitudes of Nigerian Students in the United States, toward handicapped persons, using six demographic variables (gender, religion, age, academic major, number of years spent in the United States, and region of origin in Nigeria) and to make recommendations for integrating handicapped persons into the mainstream of Nigerian society. Data for the study were obtained from the Nigerian students in the following research universities: (1) Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma, (2) University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin, (3) University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, and (4) Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio. Three hundred and eighty (N = 380) Nigerian students were selected from the four research universities. Each received a questionnaire package which contained a cover letter, a demographic information sheet, and a modified version of the ATTITUDES TOWARD HANDICAPPED PERSON SCALE (ATDP) Form A. ATDP was originally developed by H. E. Yuker, J. R. Block, and J. E. Young in 1970. Out of the 380 subjects who received the questionnaires, 265 subjects (70%) returned usable questionnaires. The analysis of the data was done using t-test and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) procedures with the statistical significance level set at p < .05.;Findings and Conclusions. The findings revealed first, that gender was not a significant influence on the Nigerian students' attitudes toward handicapped persons; second, religious affiliation was a significant influence on Nigerians' attitudes toward handicapped persons; third, age was not a significant influence on Nigerians' attitudes toward handicapped persons; fourth, academic major was not a significant influence on Nigerian students' attitudes toward handicapped persons, fifth, the number of years spent in the United States was a significant factor in Nigerian students' attitudes toward handicapped persons, and finally, region of origin was not a significant factor in Nigerians' attitudes toward handicapped persons. Overall, the findings revealed that Nigerian students in this study showed strong positive attitudes toward handicapped persons. Some implications for this study indicated the need for more emphasis on special education programs at different levels in Nigerian schools. Recommendations were provided for integrating handicapped persons into the mainstream of Nigerian society. |
