The objects of disability awareness education for social inclusion of students with and without disabilities are to understand and accept the differences and variety of individuals including disabilities and to create the social relationships of all students with vigorous interactions. In order to maintain social relationships among class mates including students with disabilities, it should be learned to understand and accept the variety and differences including disabilities. Also, well-structured disability awareness education is needed to help the students'' active mutual interaction.
This study described the process of improvement on disability awareness of elementary school students by applying educational drama program utilizing disability-related picture books. Research questions were (1) what did the elementary students experience from education drama program on disability awareness?, (2) how were the attitudes of elementary students towards disability changed through educational drama program on disability awareness? Research participants were seventeen students without disabilities in the general 5th grade classes of general elementary school in D-si. There were two special classes in the school, but there is no student with disability in the 5th grade. Finally, most of students didn''t have any experience of inclusive education except for the experience of being with students with disabilities in the school. Only one student who experienced inclusive education in other school were included in one class.
The program of ten times secured ten hours from creative experiential activities. The educational drama program was disability awareness education including various activities of educational drama based on the contents of disability-related books. The students without disabilities participated in seven times of educational drama utilizing disability-related books, and participated in three times of educational drama with students with disabilities. Each class models of educational drama program for disability awareness was constructed with four levels of ''setting-discussion-presentation-decision''. In the level of setting, relaxing their bodies, telling picture books, recognizing study objects were implemented. In the level of discussion, main activities were various educational dramas, group discussions, deciding ways of presentation. In the level of presentation, activities of presentation, and explaining were practiced, and sharing experiences and evaluating were major activities in the level of deciding. The reviews of students without disabilities, the journal of researcher, the review on invitation performance of special education teachers were collected during implementation of education drama program on disability awareness. All data from the semi-structured interviews with students without disabilities and special education teachers were gathered and transcribed. The results of this study were as follows.
First, the educational drama program enriched opportunities of positive experiences which can replace their prior discomfort and wounded heart for positive social relationship between students with disabilities and without disabilities. Because of that, they could guarded down for each others, interacted positively, and builded up trust for each others. Second, students without disabilities were absorbed their performances as individuals with disabilities in educational drama, and identified themselves with the role of individuals with disabilities through the experiences of overcome adversities, and sympathized difficulties of individuals with disabilities and destroyed their stereotypes on individuals with disabilities that they had before. Third, the successful experiences of students without disabilities who performed with students with disabilities allowed them to accept students with disabilities as their friends and as members of the school.