Page 163 - Vseživljenjsko učenje kot temelj trajnostne družbe

Ableism and Mindset of Future Educators

Maja Lebeničnik Karmen Drljić
Univerza na Primorskem, Univerza na Primorskem,
Pedagoška fakulteta Pedagoška fakulteta
maja.lebenicnik@pef.upr.si karmen.drljic@pef.upr.si

Sensitivity toward vulnerable social groups and ensuring equal opportunities
for them represents an important social aspect of a sustainability-oriented
society. This paper therefore examines the phenomenon of ableism – a form
of prejudice against individuals with special needs, that stems from the ideal
of the fully capable individual and the simultaneous underestimation of the
abilities of people with special needs. This study also researches the role of
beliefs about the malleability of individual traits (so called ‘mindset’) in the
self-assessment of ableism. Among students (N = 232) enrolled in various ed-
ucational study programmes at the Faculty of Education, University of Pri-
morska (UP PEF), we assessed the presence of ableism and their mindset, as
well as potential correlations between the two concepts. The analysis of the
results revealed that students preparing for future work primarily with vul-
nerable groups (e.g. individuals with special needs) report less ableism than
those preparing to work mainly with the normative population. Fixed mindset
was weakly positively correlated with the component of ableism named ‘Dis-
crimination.’ Growth mindset showed moderate positive correlation with the
ableismcomponentnamed‘PersonalResponsibility.’Multiplelinearregression
showed that the nature of study programmes significantly predicted ableism
and its components, but growth mindset significantly predicted only the facet
of ableism, in which people pass the responsibility for success solely onto the
disabled individual. We can conclude that mindset (about intelligence) is not
a useful concept for predicting ableism.
Keywords: ableism, mindset, higher education, pre-service teachers
© 2025 Maja Lebeničnik and Karmen Drljić
https://doi.org/10.26493/978-961-293-538-2.9

Introduction
Sustainability is defined as a multi-dimensional concept, covering the eco-
nomic,environmental,andsocialspheres.In addressingthesocialdimension
of sustainability – that is, the pursuit of a sustainable society – the emphasis is
placed on the provision of inclusive and equitable education, ensuring equal
opportunities for lifelong learning for all of those with disabilities (UNESCO,

Hudovernik, S., Lepičnik Vodopivec, J., Drljić, K., Birsa, E., Mezgec, M., Cotič, N.,
Dolenc, P., Ferbežar, N., Hozjan, D., in Štemberger, T. (ur.). (2025). Vseživljenjsko učenje
kot temelj trajnostne družbe. Založba Univerze na Primorskem.