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The Alberta Education study of student attitudes toward the handicapped described existing levels of student awareness and attitudes about handicapped persons and determined in 134 Alberta schools if attitudes could be changed through classroom presentations. The effectiveness of two programs were evaluated--Program 1, a handicapped person presentation and Program 2, a television and teacher presentation. Findings were analyzed in terms of six research questions: what were the attitudes toward handicapped persons held by students before any programs were presented; can attitudes toward handicapped persons be changed by means of a single classroom presentation and discussion; what effects or changes in students' attitudes occurred; were changes in attitude differentially related to grade level, sex, contacts with handicapped persons or type of program presented; will the modified attitude levels be retained over a period of time; what were the attitudes of students toward the program presented to them in terms of overall evaluation, usefulness, and difficulty levels; and what were the opinions of students and teachers about the particular presentation mode they experienced. Among results were that presence or absence of a handicapped student in the school is unrelated to general attitude; programs of relatively short duration (1 hour) can significantly alter general and specific attitudes; and both types of program had an immediate, positive effect on general attitude toward handicapped persons. Appendixes, which make up more than half the document, include a review of research related to attitudes toward the handicapped; a report on classroom intervention programs for changing student attitudes toward handicapped persons; administration instructions, study instruments, and sample questionnaires; correspondence; and a map of Alberta displaying education zones. (SB)