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Introduction: Students who are enrolled in professional education programs such as occupational therapy may have inherent attitudes towards the future clients they work with. These attitudes may be influenced by the level of their professional education as well as cultural values of their country of origin. Purpose: The purpose of the study was to examine occupational therapy students' attitudes towards individuals with disabilities from an international, cross-cultural perspective and to investigate the possible impact of professional education on students' attitudes. Method: 485 occupational therapy students from 11 university programs (3 from Australia, 3 from the United Kingdom, 3 from the United States, and 2 from Taiwan) completed the "Interactions with Disabled Person's" (IDP) scale. Results: Significant differences were found between occupational therapy students from Australia, Taiwan, the United States, and the United Kingdom on the following IDP variables: overall attitude towards individuals with disabilities, "discomfort", "sympathy", "uncertainty", "coping", "fear", and "vulnerability". Significant differences between first year students as a total group and final year students as a total group were found on their overall attitudes towards individuals with disabilities, "discomfort", and "uncertainty". Conclusion/implications: The attitudes towards individuals with disabilities among first year and final year occupational therapy students varies between countries and the students' year level also impacts on their attitudes towards individuals with a disability. (Contains 3 tables.)

This international, cross-cultural study investigated the attitudes of occupational therapy students from Australia, United Kingdom, United States and Taiwan towards inclusive education for students with disabilities. The possible impact of professional education on students' attitudes was also explored. A total of 485 students from 11 entry-level occupational therapy education programmes from Australia, the United Kingdom, the United Sates and Taiwan participated in the study. Among them, 264 were freshmen (first-year students) and 221 were seniors (final-year students). Data collected from a custom-designed questionnaire were analysed both quantitatively and qualitatively. In general, the occupational therapy students reported having positive attitudes towards inclusion. Considerable differences, however, existed among the student groups from the four countries. Professional education appeared to have a significant impact on students' attitudes towards inclusion from first year to senior year. Although students were in favour of inclusion, they also cautioned that their support for inclusive practices depended on various factors such as adequate preparation, support and assistance to students with disabilities. Limitations of the study included the small, convenience sample and different degree structures of the participating programmes. Future research studies need to compare occupational therapy students' attitudes with students from other health care professions. A longitudinal study on the impact of the professional education programme on students' attitudes towards inclusive education is warranted. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]