Art Therapy as an Agent for Change

Children with Emotional and Behavioral Disabilities (EBD) are increasing in numbers in the classroom. Unfortunately educators are not provided adequate preparation to meet their needs, thus many form a negative attitude toward these students. This study addresses the problem of educator's negative attitudes toward students with EBD and seeks to determine if those attitudes can be changed. Students enrolled in a teacher preparation class participated in this study to determine if the use of art therapy combined with an informative in-service could alter their perceptions toward students with EBD. The students completed drawings of students with and without EBD along with a repertory grid and Interaction with Disabled Persons Scale as part of the pre- and post-test to ascertain if a shift occurred in attitudes. Qualitative data was also collected. Results indicated that the intervention was successful in changing how the pre-service teachers viewed students with EBD from bad students to students with emotional problems. This book is a resource for teachers, educators of teachers and those in the mental health profession.