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Schedule:
Saturday, January 17, 2026
Marquis BR 6, ML 2 (Marriott Marquis Washington DC)
* noted as presenting author
Background and Purpose: Disability affects approximately 28.7% of the U.S. population, and social workers regularly interact with disabled individuals, requiring disability competency for effective service delivery. However, many social work programs lack comprehensive disability-focused education, which may contribute to negative attitudes among students. This study investigates how exposure to disability-specific curricula impacts students' attitudes in a social work program, focusing on disability studies and aiming to inform best practices in social work education.
Methods: A quantitative, descriptive, and quasi-experimental design was used to assess social work students' attitudes toward disability. Purposive, non-probability sampling methods were used to recruit social work students within one northeastern university. Notably, the Master of Social Work program from which students were sampled noted a focus on disability studies in the specialization year. Attitudes were measured with the Social Worker’s Attitudes toward Disability Scale (SWADS) across cognitive, affective, and behavioral domains. Social work students enrolled in a disability-specific course were compared to those not exposed to such curricula. Surveys were administered online before and after semester-long coursework in Fall 2024, and descriptive and inferential statistical analyses were performed using SPSS v.29.
Results: Our study of 100 participants found that most were female (84.9%), White (49%), or Hispanic (33.3%), with 19.4% having a disability. The average age was 25.1 (SD = 7.07), and nearly half (42%) were master's students. Over half of individuals (59%) provided care for someone with a disability, 42% worked for someone with a disability, and 64.7% had previous exposure to disability-specific curricula. The average scores for the three SWADS subdomains – (1) cognitions (5.95), (2) feelings (6.1), and (3) practice (6.19) -- as well as the global score (6.1) indicate mostly inclusive attitudes toward disability among participants. Comparing participants exposed to disability-specific curricular to those without exposure, no statistically significant demographic differences were detected. Students exposed to a disability-specific curriculum scored higher in the cognition (M = 6.01, SD = 0.75) and practice (M = 6.19, SD = 0.85) domains compared to those who were not exposed (cognition: M = 5.31, SD = 1.32; practice: M = 5.50, SD = 1.34), with marginal statistical significance (z = 1.814, p = 0.070; z = 1.865, p = 0.062, respectively). A similar trend was shown in the feelings subdomain (good/proud/hopeful when communicating/working with disabled clients) and the global score; however, these results were not statistically significant.
Conclusions and Implications: Students demonstrated inclusive attitudes toward disability, with those exposed to disability-specific curricula scoring higher in cognition and practice, indicating greater competence. Increased exposure to such curricula fosters positive attitudes and equips future social workers to support disabled individuals and to advance professional values around disability justice. Recommendations include integrating disability-focused coursework and experiential learning (e.g., simulation labs) to enhance the emotional aspect of attitude related to interactions with disabled individuals. Future research should explore the impact of disability-specific curricula on students' attitudes in generalist master's programs and assess the long-term effects of disability education on social work practice.
Methods: A quantitative, descriptive, and quasi-experimental design was used to assess social work students' attitudes toward disability. Purposive, non-probability sampling methods were used to recruit social work students within one northeastern university. Notably, the Master of Social Work program from which students were sampled noted a focus on disability studies in the specialization year. Attitudes were measured with the Social Worker’s Attitudes toward Disability Scale (SWADS) across cognitive, affective, and behavioral domains. Social work students enrolled in a disability-specific course were compared to those not exposed to such curricula. Surveys were administered online before and after semester-long coursework in Fall 2024, and descriptive and inferential statistical analyses were performed using SPSS v.29.
Results: Our study of 100 participants found that most were female (84.9%), White (49%), or Hispanic (33.3%), with 19.4% having a disability. The average age was 25.1 (SD = 7.07), and nearly half (42%) were master's students. Over half of individuals (59%) provided care for someone with a disability, 42% worked for someone with a disability, and 64.7% had previous exposure to disability-specific curricula. The average scores for the three SWADS subdomains – (1) cognitions (5.95), (2) feelings (6.1), and (3) practice (6.19) -- as well as the global score (6.1) indicate mostly inclusive attitudes toward disability among participants. Comparing participants exposed to disability-specific curricular to those without exposure, no statistically significant demographic differences were detected. Students exposed to a disability-specific curriculum scored higher in the cognition (M = 6.01, SD = 0.75) and practice (M = 6.19, SD = 0.85) domains compared to those who were not exposed (cognition: M = 5.31, SD = 1.32; practice: M = 5.50, SD = 1.34), with marginal statistical significance (z = 1.814, p = 0.070; z = 1.865, p = 0.062, respectively). A similar trend was shown in the feelings subdomain (good/proud/hopeful when communicating/working with disabled clients) and the global score; however, these results were not statistically significant.
Conclusions and Implications: Students demonstrated inclusive attitudes toward disability, with those exposed to disability-specific curricula scoring higher in cognition and practice, indicating greater competence. Increased exposure to such curricula fosters positive attitudes and equips future social workers to support disabled individuals and to advance professional values around disability justice. Recommendations include integrating disability-focused coursework and experiential learning (e.g., simulation labs) to enhance the emotional aspect of attitude related to interactions with disabled individuals. Future research should explore the impact of disability-specific curricula on students' attitudes in generalist master's programs and assess the long-term effects of disability education on social work practice.