This study explored the attitudes pre-service teachers held toward people with disabilities. The researcher conducted a survey methodology study via questionnaire of repeated measures design, using the respondents as their own controls.

The goal of this study was to find out if pre-service teachers’ attitudes toward people with disabilities were affected by descriptive labels such as “physical” disability or “mental” disability. In other words, did the type of disability affect the pre-service teachers’ attitudes toward that person?

Findings revealed that pre-service teachers had a more negative attitude toward people labeled with mental disabilities, and a more positive attitude toward people labeled with physical disabilities or toward people whose type of disability was not specified. In addition, findings revealed that Elementary Education pre-service teachers had a more positive attitude toward people with disabilities (regardless of the descriptive label) than did Secondary Education pre-service teachers.