Date

4-7-2026

Department

School of Education

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy in Education (PhD)

Chair

Laura Mansfield

Keywords

disability awareness, comfort levels, interactions, public high school, disability, special education

Disciplines

Education

Abstract

The purpose of this quantitative, quasi-experimental, pretest-posttest research study was to determine whether a disability awareness program would increase high school students' self-reported comfort level when interacting with peers with disabilities. This study is important because student comfort levels when interacting with peers with disabilities has a direct impact on inclusion, social acceptance, and positive relationships throughout the school and community; therefore, this study adds to the literature regarding comfort levels by examining the difference between comfort levels of general education students that have and have not received a disability awareness program. The sample was composed of 90 high school students in 9th through 12th grade with diverse ethnic backgrounds, who attended a public high school in John County located in Maryland. Data were collected using the Interactions with Disabled Persons Scale. The results of the analysis of covariance found a significant correlation between the personal comfort levels of students who received the disability awareness program and students who did not. This indicates that a disability awareness program does have a positive impact on students’ overall comfort levels. Further research should examine targeted populations across various school sizes, with different demographics of students, and across school settings (public, private, and charter).

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