Adaptation and Distribution of a Complex Sensitivity-Training Program in the Eastern European Region

Abstract

Research has shown that an inclusive way of thinking helps to promote social interactions on and off the sports field. The most important process of accepting differences is sensitization, which is to achieve the positive change of an understanding and accepting environment through purposeful effort and involvement. The role of teachers of people with disabilities is significant in this process. The KézenFogva Foundation has applied this to develop an inclusive pedagogical, theoretical, and practical pilot project, the “SHAPE Complex Sensitisation Programme”, an innovative special pedagogy infrastructure which highlighted all practices promoting the realization of inclusion. After their training, teachers (majority educators) participating in the project (N = 26) applied the acquired knowledge in theme weeks among their students (N = 191), extending sensitization by further dissemination. Besides showing the direction and extent of changes in the sensitivities of teachers and their students (emotional, intellectual, and behavioral) with the help of the attitude scale, CATCH, the research was designed to introduce an innovative way of inducement of non-disabled athletes as well as special sport professionals. Although only a limited number of teachers could participate in the training, the success and effectiveness of the program was illustrated that even with this small sample, changes in the attitudes of the participants could be detected and that the training held by the foundation and its partners was effective, along with a noticeable change in the attitude of students.

1. Introduction

The KézenFogva Foundation has been working to promote a worthy life for people with disabilities. The primary goal is social integration by reaching out and sensitizing people in one of the key fields of sport. Inclusion of children with mental disabilities in athletic life is problematic because of the difficulty of finding professionals capable of achieving this goal. The pilot program introduced by this study sought to offer a solution to this problem. The new pilot program addressed inclusion with a two-step approach. The program under examination targeted the sensitivity training of educators with the goal that, by their indirect influence, developing children would typically become more open toward their disabled counterparts. Through this approach, every platform through which common development and community-building can be realized would be an enriching experience for all those involved. Both recreational and competitive athletics are especially important fields. The goal of this sensitivity training was to have a recognizable effect and impact on others and, along with broadening an individual’s experiences to bring about a positive change in perspective, throughout which a more understanding and sensitive environment could be produced, considering those who differ from the mainstream population. In this kind of environment, prejudice would decline, and the usual blind stereotypes and stigmas would diminish (Meggyesné and Máténé 2013). With the help of developments in science, education, and technology, the quality of life of individuals with disabilities can change for the better; but the basic condition for this is a positive social environment. (Erdei 2016). The wide presence of sensitivity training creates the kind of attitude change and supportive environment in which people living with disabilities can take an active role in society. It is an important perspective that the people immediately surrounding these educators, parents, and disabled individuals should participate in the sensitivity-training program since in this way, they can attain the goal of mainstream society becoming involved, bringing about an attitude-forming, positive community, and by these means, realizing optimal societal integration (Meggyesné and Máténé 2013). It is important to note, however, that in many cases the socio-economic backgrounds of young teachers do not allow them to continue their training and stay in the profession because the state-owned care system does not provide them adequate financial support. After starting a family, young teachers, mostly women, look for jobs that offer bigger financial security and more flexible working hours. After childbirth, many of them look for private institutions and development service companies that offer higher salaries and more flexible working hours, creating a shortage of staff in the public social sector (Erdei 2016).

Integration in theory and practice. It is without question that a positive directional change of the attitudes of society toward people with disabilities is attainable with the help of inclusion and integration. The main principle of integration is that every member of society should be guaranteed equal rights and opportunities. Inclusion means adoption and acceptance based on which differences are not handled as problems, but as a normal part of the educational/work process (Ainscow et al. 2012; Lynas 2009). The goal thus involves two steps: (1) empowering the educators to be able to adopt and (2) capacitating students to accept. The attitudes and appropriate competencies of teachers are the most important perspective in the development of the education and training of people with disabilities or special educational needs (SEN) children (Réthy 2002a, 2002b). Even though a large percentage of SEN students can now study in an integrated fashion, only a scant number of students living with mental disabilities are able to participate in integrated training. For inclusive education to be realized in mainstream schools, the inequality of opportunity between societal groups must be dissolved, and educators must go beyond their proclivity for their professional work and carry it out with appropriately positive attitudes and other appropriate personal and objective qualities. The essential perspective is that both discrimination and the prejudice of educators should be reduced in the realm of public education (Némethné 2008, 2009; Orbán-Sebestyén et al. 2019).

2. Methods

The Complex Sensitivity Training Program (CST). The goal of the Complex Sensitivity Training Program (CST) is that through sensitivity training, the educators participating in the program, and beyond that, those who study the subject as a result of training sessions with these educators, would experience a positive change of attitude with respect to their attitudes toward people with disabilities. The research focused on the following questions. (1) During the training provided by the CST project, in what measure and direction did the program cause a change of attitude toward people with disabilities on the part of the educators who participated in the training? (2) In what direction and measure did the participating students experience a change of attitude toward people with disabilities as a result of special training sessions held by these educators during a disability-themed week of sessions?

Since 1993, the KézenFogva Foundation has worked to help our fellow human beings with disabilities live in an accepting society in which people with disabilities can live every day with dignity. The activities of the organization offer support in every area of life, whether school studies themselves or social care, the creation of workplaces, or in the area of legal help. The CST sensitivity-training program was created in the interest of strengthening the societal acceptance of people living with disabilities. The responsibility of the project leader was to make people aware of the foundation’s complex program to shape societal attitudes and to adapt and implement the program among the institutions of the foundation’s partner organizations and within the narrower community of these individuals.

The target clientele of this attitude-shaping complex program were kindergartens and elementary schools in which there was a need for the presence of professional, community, and personal societal acceptance. This included both kindergarten and elementary teachers who did not have significant experience with the integration of people living with disabilities participate in the program. Those teachers then passed on the lessons learned during the training on a local level. One of the defining professional responsibilities of the program was to see participating educators pass on their acquired knowledge to those children who attended mainstream public educational institutions through which those students also, as a kind of unofficial target group, can become participants in the CST program. For this end, the educator’s program included numerous practical instructions, gleaning of experiences, and methodological assistance. The three main elements of the program were further education for educators, the consultation following the training, and the holding of a disability-themed week.

In the CST, the responsibility of both the international participants in the project and those educators who embraced the program was to make Sessions on the Concerns of Disabled Persons a reality. Within the scope of these sessions, the participants passed on to their students the practical and theoretical knowledge acquired during the training. Active cooperation among colleagues and mutual work took place during the training, which was continuously supported by professionally trained, recognized educational leaders. Following the acquisition of the theoretical and practical background of the disability-themed week, the passing on of what the participants learned came to fruition and opened an opportunity to put those ideas into practice and practically implement the now-familiar methods and tools of attitude formation. In relation to the independent work of these educators, they received continuous mentor support, affirmation, and feedback from colleagues from the partner organizations as well. The CST included numerous practical instructions, gleaning of experiences, and methodological help. The three main elements of the program were (1) further education for educators, (2) consultation following the training, and (3) conducting a disability-themed week. Throughout the program, participating educators had the opportunity to participate in group activities with the participation of both people with disabilities and typically developing children. The program included the organization of play and experience days, personality-developing activities for educators, and casework. The coursework involved the passing on of knowledge at mainstream kindergartens and schools, thus creating a relationship with the students and workers in local institutions. The program was characterized by active project work, cooperation, and group work. In addition, the participating educators received continuous support from educators and the colleagues of the partner organizations throughout the preparation and realization of their work. Throughout the collection of prepared practice exercises the creators of the CST program paid special attention to encouraging the acquisition of physical development along with the power of community-building in as much as research has proven athletics to be one of the most effective elements of sensitivity building and community bonding. As a part of the different specified areas of training, individuals with physical disabilities, deaf impairments, visual impairments, and intellectual disabilities were introduced to athletics and given the opportunity to participate. This was essentially done with the viewpoint that both educators and children alike should experience the new adapted version of traditional athletic disciplines, including adapted sports, such as goalball and chair volleyball. Other sports specially adapted to individuals with intellectual disabilities included floor hockey and unified doubles tennis.

In this study, a sensitivity scale and directional attitude survey often used internationally in attitude research was used, the Chedoke-McMaster Attitudes Towards Children with Handicaps Scale (CATCH) survey and attitude examination scale. The scale measures the three dimensions of attitude (affective, behavioral, and cognitive competence) in a self-completed style, using sentences familiar to children and independent of cultural factors, which were easily translated into Hungarian (Pongrácz 2013). The survey was perfected by Canadian Peter L. Rosenbaum and his colleagues in 1986 for the purpose of measuring the attitudes of typically developing children toward their classmates with disabilities. The psychometric properties of the CATCH include good variability in total and factor scores. Internal consistency and test–retest reliability are acceptable. Construct validity was demonstrated by confirming several hypotheses. Because the instrument is able to discriminate differences between different subpopulations, it is a valuable measure for evaluating the outcomes of clinical interventions aimed at improving children’s attitudes towards their disabled peers (Rosenbaum et al. 1986) The CATCH attitude scale is based on the three components of a person’s attitude: the intellectual (cognitive), the emotional (affective), and the behavioral components. CATCH was developed specifically for the study of children between the ages of 8 years and 13 years, although in later international research CATCH was applied to the attitude changes of adults as well (Bossaert 2011; De Laat 2013). The Dutchman Bossaert and the Belgian De Laat were the first to use the CATCH method with adults (Bossaert 2011; De Laat 2013). The Frenchman Vignes made an analysis of attitude change measuring tools in an academic article even earlier in 2008 through which he also proved that the CATCH method had particularly good psychometric attributes. Thus, it was especially useful not only for measuring multiple age groups, but for research made from various psychological angles as well (Vignes 2008).

The survey included both positively and negatively worded questions to examine attitude change, randomly distributed throughout the test. It was not possible for those taking the survey to figure out from the construction of the questions which attitude was indicated by which answer to the questions. The expressions were excellently suited for determining the extent of attitude change (with the help of the average-ranking system), as well as for demonstrating which components of attitude changed the most throughout the timeframe of the research process. The survey contained 36 assertions. The participants evaluated the assertions on a Likert scale of 1–5. The completion of a series of questions which measured sociometrical data preceded the administration of the CATCH survey itself. The students were asked about school place (country), age, gender, and whether there were disabled persons in their home or everyday environment. The educators were asked about age, family situation, information related to their own disability status, and current or past professional information. From these answers, the researchers obtained a more extensive picture of the sample population to assist in analyzing the responses to the CATCH survey within a wider demographic setting.

The survey contained 12 questions for each specific attitude, which resulted in 12–60 total points and produced a simple score for each of the three individual attitude competencies. The total sum of these scores could result in a maximum total score of 180 points. The Wilcoxon signed rank test was applied to the ordinal (preferential order) questions on the survey, while examining whether a significant change was detected, that is, whether the perceived change could be attributed to the entire population or whether it could be pronounced that similar thematic training sessions would produce similar changes among children studying in a mainstream institution. Typically developing children filled out the survey over a period of 1–2 days, both before and after participating in the disability-themed event.

The educators were assessed using the CATCH survey on three occasions over the course of two years. The changes were examined, not only between the first and last instances of the survey, but also by comparing the second survey with both the first and last surveys as well. The extent that individual attitudes changed between the first assessment (before the sensitivity training) and the third assessment (after the disability-themed week) was also examined. In processing the data from the completed surveys, a statistical examination was done using first-order analysis of variance (ANOVA). This was complemented by the Wilcoxon test (the comparison of its two parameters being useful) and the Friedman test with which the comparison of multiple time-dependent parameters was possible. A one-sample T-test examined whether in the sample population the given values differed significantly from the average value of the particular variable. In the case of the two-sample T-test, the researchers examined the average of the given variable and whether there was significant deviation in two different sample populations, the participants in the first and second assessment periods, respectively. The Kolmogorov–Smirnov test compared both the distribution of two variables to each other and whether the distribution matched the original hypothesis. Distribution of the values of each variable on top of a Gaussian-correlation model determined if responses on the Likert scale demonstrated at least mild correlation.

This research used two different sample populations. The samples were selected by the coordinator of the CST program and the partner organizations, according to a predetermined strategy. The main goal of the selection process was to have participate in the program those mainstream kindergarten and elementary school educators who deal with normally developing children for the most part but at the same time are interested in the integration and inclusive development of students with disabilities. The educators’ own students participated in the project. The sample included 26 head elementary teachers, specialized teachers, kindergarten teachers, and other educators, along with 191 students of whom 95 were boys and 96 were girls.

Participation in the research was voluntary and anonymous for both the educators and the students taking part in the sensitivity-training sessions. Conditions for participation included completion of a four-day training session partly completed in Budapest and partly completed online, as well as analyzing research presentations. Prior to the research, the researchers gave a presentation to the educators who agreed to participate in the survey, as well as in the before-and-after survey related to the thematic sessions with disabled individuals. The presentation presented in detail the research, the expected results, and the completed survey, the essence of which was to show to what extent and in what direction attitude change occurred among the participants.

Analysis of the social demographic breakdown of the sample population. Each of the 26 participating educators was female. A majority (65%) of the respondents lived in a family, 73% of them with their own child/children. Two individuals were persons living with disabilities. Most of the educators had completed a college or university degree (11.5%). Regarding training in specific disciplines, there were also therapists and conductors who studied auxiliary trades, among the respondents about whom the researchers hypothesized that the extent of their positive attitudes toward persons with disabilities would be high at the beginning of the survey. Concerning the other participants, there were kindergarten teachers, social workers, teachers, and religious instructors. A majority of the educators had worked for more than 10 years in the field of education. With respect to all the participants, the average amount of teaching experience was 16.19 years. From this, it can be concluded that the sample of educators were experienced professionals in special education (69.2%) with an average of 2.5 years of experience working with students with mental disabilities or autism. The student population consisted of boys (49.7%) and girls (50.3%) with an average age of 10.2 years of age. The average age was comparable to that of the participants in earlier international experiments using the CATCH attitude survey. Of the sample, 23% of the students had close contact with persons with disabilities.

3. Results

Analysis of the results of the educator survey. The researchers used the Friedman test to prepare a comparison of the different variables from the three instances of the survey. In the case of all 36 assertions, the average response grew in a positive direction between the first and last assessment. CATCH measures use a 5-point Likert scale so respondents’ answers were spread over this interval. At the same time, positive change did occur in every case, as seen in the average response between the second assessment (given at the end of the training) and the third assessment (given at the conclusion of the disability-themed week). This result suggests that the training caused a positive attitude change in each participant, regarding all three attitudes, while at the same time further sensitivity did not occur following the disability-themed week. In the case of the 36 assertions, there were 23 instances of significant change (p < 0.05). Among these were nine cases of positive intellectual change, six cases of positive emotional change, and five cases of positive behavioral change. As a conclusion, positive change occurred primarily in the realm of intellectual attitude, although it could be said that in consideration of all three instances of the survey, the training produced positive change with respect to all 36 questions.

Analysis of the component attitudes of the educators. The following subsection demonstrates based on the three instances of the survey given to the educators the extent of change that occurred with respect to individual attitudes toward disabled persons. On the basis of the statistical report, it can be seen (

Table 1. Results of the CATCH survey and the distribution of values.

	N	Mean Score before the Course	Mean Score after the Course	Mean Score after the Event	Attitude Change	Significance
Affectional (emotional)	26	43.93	49.35	50.61	−6.692	0.418
Behavioral (conative)	26	48.15	50.88	52.11	−3.961	0.464
Intellectual (cognitive)	26	44	48.27	48.38	−4.384	0.356

) that examining the emotional attitudes of the educators, the pre-training average was 43.93, which grew to 49.35 when measured at the end of the training. Later, after the completion of the theme week, the average was 50.61. The same change can be observed with behavioral attitude where the average rose from 48.15 to 50.88, then finally to 52.11. In the case of cognitive attitude, the average was 44.0, then 48.27, and finally 48.38. Thus, in the case of each attitude variable, growth was demonstrated.

Looking then at the same sample (N = 26 educators) with the help of a one and two-sample T-test and examining the average pairs (1) before and after training, (2) before training and after event, and (3) after training and after event, the extent of attitude change was analyzed (

Table 2. Comparison averages from the different instances of the survey by instance.

Paired T-Test
Pair	Attitude	Average	N	Difference	Sig.
1st pair	Emotional 1st instance	43.92	26	−5.423	0
	Emotional 2nd instance	49.35	26
2nd pair	Emotional 1st instance	43.92	26	−6.692	0
	Emotional 3rd instance	50.61	26
3rd pair	Emotional 2nd instance	49.15	26	−1.269	0.192
	Emotional 3rd instance	50.61	26
4th pair	Behavioral 1st instance	48.15	26	−2.731	0.004
	Behavioral 2nd instance	50.88	26
5th pair	Behavioral 1st instance	48.15	26	−3.961	0.001
	Behavioral 3rd instance	52.11	26
6th pair	Behavioral 2nd instance	50.88	26	−1.23	0.061
	Behavioral 3rd instance	52.11	26
7th pair	Intellectual 1st instance	44	26	−4.269	0
	Intellectual 2nd instance	48.27	26
8th pair	Intellectual 1st instance	44	26	−4.384	0
	Intellectual 3rd instance	48.38	26
9th pair	Intellectual 2nd instance	48.27	26	−0.115	0.873
	Intellectual 3rd instance	48.38	26

). The average increased everywhere; therefore, it could be said that positive change occurred with regard to the comparison of each instance of the survey with the ones following it. It could be stated based on these results that by the end of the training, significant attitude change occurred among the educators in the case of all three attitudes. It is also noteworthy that significant attitude change occurred between the pre-training and post-event surveys, although significant attitude change was not observable between the post-training (second instance) and post-event surveys (third instance).

The researchers used the non-parametric single-sample Kolmogorov–Smirnov test to determine from another perspective whether the attitudinal change values were normally distributed. Since the significance of the difference in values was larger than 0.05 (p > 0.05 in each instance), these values proved to be normally distributed (

Table 3. Examination for normal distribution of values.

	Em. 1st/2nd Instance	Em. 1st/3rd Instance	Em. 2nd/3rd Instance	Behav. 1st/2nd Instance	Behav. 1st/3rd Instance	Behav. 2nd/3rd Instance	Intel. 1st/2nd Instance	Intel. 1st/3rd Instance	Intel. 2nd/3rd Instance
N	26	26	26	26	26	26	26	26	26
Average	5.423	6.692	1.269	2.73	3.961	1.23	4.269	4.384	0.115
Sig.	0.415	0.418	0.942	0.57	0.464	0.534	0.689	0.356	0.435

).

Considering social demographic questions and data, multiple data were compared with the goal of obtaining a picture of what types of social demographic attributes produced unique results with respect to the educators’ attitudes. It was discovered based on family status (

Table 4. Attitudinal change considering family status.

Family Status		Em. 1st/2nd Instance	Em. 1st/3rd Instance	Em. 2nd/3rd Instance	Behav. 1st/2nd Instance	Behav. 1st/3rd Instance	Behav. 2nd/3rd Instance	Intel. 1st/2nd Instance	Intel. 1st/3rd Instance	Intel. 2nd/3rd Instance
Married	Average	4.705	6.82	2.11	3.35	4.94	1.58	4.58	4.94	0.35
	N	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17
Single	Average	8.33	9.66	1.33	0	3.66	3.66	4	4.66	0.66
	N	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3
Divorced	Average	5	7.25	2.25	2	3.5	1.5	4.25	3.75	−0.5
	N	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4
Widowed	Average	8	0	−8	3	−3	−6	2	0.5	−1.5
	N	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
Altogether	N	26	26	26	26	26	26	26	26	26
Sig.		0.726	0.513	0.032	0.689	0.324	0.002	0.928	0.763	0.898

) that the respondents included married, single, divorced, and widowed educators. Because the sample size was small, it was not possible to demonstrate a characteristic effect of family status nor to draw an opinion of the population from the given data. However, it was interestingly established from the data that, while in the case of married educators, their attitude change was 4.7 between the first and second instance of the survey, while the average attitudes of singles and widows changed by 8.3 and 8.0, respectively. This prompted the researchers to conclude that educators with families were already more sensitive toward people with disabilities and thus exhibited a smaller attitude change, while those who did not live with family (singles, widows, or divorcees) came to the training with a less sensitive fundamental attitude. At the same time, in only a few cases were the results significant for the population, which was likely due to the small sample size (N = 26). Looking at the nine time periods which were examined (emotional attitude before/after, intellectual attitude before/after, behavioral attitude before/after), altogether on only two occasions was the difference significant, and interestingly, on both occasions the change occurred after the training and after the event week. Naturally, this does not indicate that the result of the research was not verified due to an inability to examine each representative population, but it should be noted that the sample only showed this result for the 26-member population. It was concluded that the results were determinable in part to one case (emotional 2nd/3rd instance), and in another case (behavioral 2nd/3rd instance) the attitude change was meaningful (and significant). It was also determinable that in the current population, educators with families were more sensitive on average toward disabled persons, and therefore, the training produced a smaller-scale attitude change for them.

The question of the respondents’ highest educational attainments was also examined. An interesting result came from this examination, as it can be stated based on the statistical analysis that educators with intermediate education or non-specific higher pedagogical education exhibited the greatest attitude change. The three instances of the survey, along with the three areas of attitude competence, were analyzed (

Table 5. Attitudinal change considering educational attainment.

Educational Attainment	Em. 1/2	Em. 1/3	Em. 2/3	Beh. 1/2	Beh. 1/3	Beh. 2/3	Int. 1/2	Int. 1/3	Int. 2/3
Doctorate	0	7	7	5	9	4	−2	0	2
N	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1
University	5.6	7.75	2.08	3.08	4.58	1.5	5.08	4.83	−0.25
N	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12
College	3.7	2.5	−1.2	0.9	0.8	−1	2.9	2.4	−5
N	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10
Intermediate, non-specific university pedagogy	12	16.33	4.33	6.66	10.33	3.66	7.66	10.66	3
N	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3
Sig.		0.012			0.037

). It can be seen based on these results that the average attitude changes between the first and third instances of the survey was 16.33 for educators with intermediate educational attainment. This result was significant (p < 0.05). Their behavioral attitudes were significant in the same way (p < 0.05).

Analysis of the student survey results. During the analysis of the students’ attitudinal change the Wilcoxon test was used since only two instances of the survey were measured, namely, before the event week and after the event week. Before the event week, the students gave more negative responses on the Likert scale, e.g., “1: Strongly disagree, 2: Disagree,” while after the event week they returned more positive responses, e.g., “4: Agree, 5: Strongly agree.” The average attitude response therefore grew positive. The same happened in the reverse case as well when the students gave a greater Likert value to negative assertions prior to the event week, e.g., “4: Agree, 5: Strongly agree,” and later, after the week, smaller values, e.g., “1: Strongly disagree, 2: Disagree.” Thus, the average decreased, which also points to a positive attitudinal change. Taking all 36 assertions together, the attitude change was positive with respect to 14 of the assertions, and among these, seven exhibited significant (p < 0.05) change. In the case of 19 assertions, the attitude changed in a negative direction, and among those, 13 exhibited significant (p < 0.05) change. The conclusion can be drawn from this that if each assertion were taken individually, then in the case of the students, the disability-themed week was probably not sufficient to change their attitudes in a positive direction. Attitudinal researchers have proven that, in general, the sensitization of students is a long-term process, and a short training session or course is not sufficient for long-term attitudinal change or measurable development in sensitivity toward people living with disabilities. Upon examining the statistical averages with cross-tabulation analysis, however, the researchers found that positive growth occurred overall in the case of each attitude competency. Here as well, the research first examined the data with the use of a non-parametric test to determine whether the distribution of values was normal. Based on the Kolmogorov–Smirnov test, the variables were distributed normally.

Regarding student attitudinal change, the average affective attitude grew from 39.48 to 40.78; the cognitive attitude from 38.35 to 41.56; and the behavioral attitude from 39.81 to 41.65. The researchers examined the average responses in time-dependent pairs with the students as well (

Table 6. Results of the students’ surveys compared by time period.

Students	N	Average	Difference	Sig.
Emotional attitude before event	191	39.48	−1.26	0.003
Emotional attitude after event	191	40.78
Intellectual attitude before event	191	38.35	−3.25	0
Intellectual attitude after event	191	41.56
Behavioral attitude before event	191	39.81	−1.84	0
Behavioral attitude after event	191	41.65

). The values before and after the event week were in every case significant; thus, it could be stated that in all three attitude areas significant positive attitude change occurred among the students and among the educators. The greatest attitudinal change was observed in intellectual attitude (3.25), while behavioral attitude changed to a lesser extent (1.84), and emotional attitude changed the least (1.26). The conclusion can be drawn from that the students acquired much throughout the training that they now “think differently” about people living with disabilities, although this training did not influence their long-term sensitivity levels.

Several changes were observed as well with the understanding of the students’ social demographic data. In particular, gender-specific differences were observed (

Table 7. Gender-specific difference among the students.

Gender		Emotional Change	Intellectual Change	Behavioral Change
Boy	Average	0.92	2.5	1.62
	N	96	96	96
Girl	Average	1.61	4	2.06
	N	95	95	95
Total		1.26	3.25	1.84

). Upon examining the genders of the students, a smaller scale change was observed among the boys (N = 96) than among the girls (N = 95). That is, the girls became more sensitive throughout the event week than the boys. Researchers have also observed this attitude on a national scale.

The students were examined considering what extent and direction attitude change was achieved by the sensitivity training among those who had close contact with people living with disabilities (

Table 8. Examination of students with respect to contact with disabled persons.

Do You Live in Close Contact with Disabled Persons?		Emotional Change	Intellectual Change	Behavorial Change
I don’t know	Average	−1.5	−4.5	0.25
	N	4	4	4
No	Average	1.17	3.37	2.05
	N	133	133	133
Yes	Average	1.81	3.11	1.43
	N	44	44	44
Total	Average	1.27	3.13	1.86
	N	181	181	181
Sig.		0.544	0.029	0.693

). The results showed that a negative or very slight positive change (1.5, −4,5, 0.25) occurred among those students who responded with unknown to the question of close contact with the disabled. Among those who had no close contact with persons with disabilities, slight positive change occurred (emotional: 1.17, intellectual: 3.31, behavioral: 2.05). On the other hand, the greatest observed positive attitude change occurred among those who had close contact with disabled persons (emotional: 1.81, intellectual: 3.11, behavioral: 1.43). However, these values were not significant. Using analysis of variance, the results were only found to be significant on one occasion in the case of cognitive attitude. It could be added to this analysis that this significance had little influence on the value of the results. Irrespective of a significant change in attitude, it is positive for those who live in close contact with persons with disabilities, and those who are touched the most deeply by the topic, exhibit the greatest extent of positive attitude change when considering the fact that their initial attitudinal responses before the event week were above average.

4. Conclusions

The educator training organized by the KézenFogva Foundation and its partner organizations achieved its goal of participant attitudes changed in a positive direction in all three areas (emotional, intellectual, and behavioral). The complex sensitivity training program was successful looking at the sensitization of both the educators and students. Finding and recruiting trainers and athletic instructors not only in professional athletic circles but within the Special Olympics movement who will be willing to involve themselves with people who live with mental disabilities is still hindered by professionals’ attitudes. With the targeted application of the program in physical educational and physical training circles, growth in the number of professionals who undertake the training of special needs athletes can be expected.

It is important to note that the salient goal of the program was the passing on of the lessons learned in a professionally appropriate and effective way to the students of the educators who participated in the project. A positive result was demonstrated, although it must be noted that experience and earlier attitudinal research has demonstrated that many more sensitivity-training programs and much more direct interactions between typical and disabled people are needed to achieve long-term, long-lasting sensitization. Therefore, the researchers and organizers alike suggest a recurring Disability Week. At the same time, integrated sports programs operating within the Special Olympics movement can offer a long-term solution for cognitive enablement and real attitudinal change in conjunction with sensitivity training.