Paralympic Sport Awareness and Perceptions Toward Individuals with Disabilities Among Future Sport Professionals

OpenAlex İngilizce

The purpose of this study was to examine sport sciences students’ perceptions toward individuals with disabilities and their levels of Paralympic sport awareness, and to investigate whether these variables differed according to gender, age, sport background, and engagement with the Paralympic Games. The sample consisted of 191 undergraduate students (80 female, 111 male) enrolled in a faculty of sport sciences and selected using a convenience sampling method. Data were collected using a Personal Information Form, the Perception Toward Individuals with Disabilities Scale, and the Paralympic Sport Awareness Scale. Descriptive statistics, independent samples t-tests, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), and Pearson correlation analyses were conducted using SPSS 25.0. Our analysis revealed that perceptions toward individuals with disabilities did not differ significantly according to age, whereas significant differences were observed according to gender and sport background. Notably, students who reported following the Paralympic Games demonstrated significantly higher levels of Paralympic sport awareness and Paralympic knowledge. Crucially, a positive and significant relationship was identified between Paralympic sport awareness and perceptions toward individuals with disabilities, indicating that higher levels of awareness were associated with more favorable perceptions. These findings underscore the critical necessity of integrating disability sport-related content into sport sciences curricula, as enhancing the visibility of Paralympic sports serves as a fundamental step in developing inclusive attitudes among future sport professionals.