An Investigation of Changes in Counselor Trainees’ Attitudes Towards Individuals with Special Needs at the End of Undergraduate Education

It is expected from counselors to offer services to students with special needs, their families and their teachers at schools. Taking into account the role of counselors in the services offered to students with special needs at schools, it is important that counselor trainees acquire and enhance positive attitudes towards individuals with special needs during their undergraduate education. In this regard, the purpose of this research is to figure out whether the counselor trainees’ attitudes towards special needs individuals change during their undergraduate education. The population of this study is composed of 104 students who enrolled in the Department of Psychological Counselling and Guidance in the 2012-2013 academic year, and then graduated in the f the 2015-2016 academic year. In this study, the Attitude toward Disabled Persons (ATDP) Scale was used to determine attitudes towards individuals with special needs. This scale applied by the researcher to voluntary students who started the first grade and the end of the fourth grade. The Paired Sample T Testwas conducted to determine whether attitudes towards the disabled have changed from the start until the end of the undergraduate education. Results indicated that there was a significant difference between the ATDP Scale of counselor trainees at the beginning and end of their undergraduate education. In other words, the attitudes of counselor trainees towards the individuals with special needs were found to be significantly more negative at the end of their four-year undergraduate education. Results were discussed in the light of the related literature and suggestions were presented