Teacher attitudes towards the inclusion of students with support needs

Teachers’ positive attitudes towards inclusive education are a prerequisite for its successful implementation. This study surveyed the attitudes of Finnish classroom, subject, resource room and special education class teachers (N = 4567) towards inclusive education. The results indicated very low support for the concept. Its acceptance was strongly associated with the specific teacher categories and the concern that inclusive placements would cause extra work for teachers. Teachers who were confident in their support networks and had sufficient access to educational resources, such as an in‐classroom teaching assistant, were more positive towards inclusion than other teachers. Attitudinal variables, including self‐efficacy and child‐centredness, and demographic variables, including age and gender, were also associated with attitudes towards inclusion. It is argued that vicious circle exists between resources and teacher attitudes. The negative climate towards inclusion prevents the legislation that would guarantee adequate resources for mainstream teachers who have students with support needs in their classrooms. The lack of legal guarantees, in turn, prevents negative teacher attitudes towards inclusive education from changing. Although the overall progress in inclusive education is tied to the development of cultural values, the promise of more inclusion in schools goes hand‐in‐hand with the availability of adequate resources.     

RESEARCH SECTION: Between a rock and a hard place: parents' attitudes to the inclusion of children with special educational needs in mainstream and special schools

In this paper, Katherine Runswick‐Cole, a researcher at the Research Institute for Health and Social Change at Manchester Metropolitan University, engages with parents' attitudes to the placement of their children with special educational needs in mainstream and special schools. She sets her review of parents' views within the current policy and legislative context. She then moves on to explore parents' attitudes to inclusion by drawing on the social model of disability as an analytical tool and developing a typology of parental school choices. The study reported in this paper involved 24 parents who were contacted through voluntary organisations and interviewed, either in their own homes or on the telephone. The views of seven professionals were also gathered. The findings reveal that parents' attitudes to mainstream and special schooling are influenced by their engagement with models of disability. The parents' experiences suggest that, despite the shifts in policy we have seen since 1997, the process of inclusive education continues to be fragile.     

Technical Education in Hong Kong

The present study explores the environmental attitudes (EA) of senior high school students in Turkey, explains which determinant factors affect these EAs, and concludes with some suggestions for curricular reform. This study includes over nine hundred students from different school types, neighbourhoods, geographical regions, and socioeconomic backgrounds. The researcher used two different questionnaires that were based on postmaterialist values: one based on the New Environmental Paradigm (NEP) and the other developed by the researcher called the General Environmental Attitudes and Perceptions (GAP). The results of ANOVA and t‐tests show that EAs of students vary depending on school type, gender, parents' education levels, parents' political views, professions, and household income. Students at public high schools, females, lower middle class students, students with well educated parents in white‐collar professions, and students with liberal parents have more pro‐environmental attitudes than the others. Students from vocational schools, almost all of which are based on single‐sex education, have scored the lowest on both surveys.     

Attitudes of Greek parents of typically developing kindergarten children towards inclusive education

The purpose of this study was to examine the attitudes of Greek parents of typically developing children towards kindergarten inclusion. Two hundred and ninety parents (208 mothers, 82 fathers) participated in this study, who had at least one typically developing pre-school child falling within a 48- to 72-month age range and attending a public non-inclusive kindergarten programme. Parents' attitudes towards kindergarten inclusion were assessed by two 5-point Likert scales and two open-ended questions. On the first scale parents were asked to indicate their degree of agreement on different aspects of inclusion, and on the second scale parents were asked to indicate their degree of concern, when in their own child's classroom, children with various types of special educational needs were included. Results indicated that: (a) Greek parents had positive attitudes towards inclusive education, (b) the more the frequency of the parent's contact with individuals with special needs, the less their concern on their child's inclusion, (c) parents' attitudes did not differ in the positiveness according to their gender and their educational level and (d) parents seem to recognize more benefits than drawbacks for their children's participation in inclusive programmes.     

Teacher attitudes towards inclusive education in Finland and Brandenburg,Germany and the issue of extra work

Positive teacher attitudes are considered an important prerequisite for the successful inclusion of students with special educational needs in the mainstream classrooms. This study surveyed teacher opinions about inclusion in Finland (N?=?298) and Brandenburg, Germany (N?=?163), two educational systems in which the number of students transferred to segregated special education is exceptionally high in international comparison. For the measurement of attitudes, a 10-item scale, teachers’ attitudes towards inclusive education, was used. The results showed that Finnish teachers were more positive towards inclusion than Brandenburg teachers (d?=?0.46). The Brandenburg teachers were especially worried about the extra work caused by inclusion. This concern was possibly related to the different structures of educational organisation. Additional support services were more easily available for the Finnish teachers than for their Brandenburg colleagues. It is argued that teachers’ concerns should be addressed to promote inclusion in schools.     

What Tanzanian parents want (and do not want) covered in school-based sex and relationships education

Despite evidence that demonstrates the benefits of school-based sex and relationships education (SRE) in promoting and protecting young people's sexual health, there are still controversies regarding what should be covered in the SRE curriculum among different stakeholders, including parents. This study assessed Tanzanian parents' attitudes towards the provision of SRE in schools in order to ascertain their level of support and what they wanted covered in school-based SRE. Two hundred and eighty-seven parents, recruited from one urban district and one rural district, completed a questionnaire assessing their attitudes towards school-based SRE. Results show that, in both districts, more than 75% supported the provision of SRE in schools as well as the inclusion of a wide range of topics in school-based SRE curriculum. However, the results also show that parents do not equally welcome the inclusion of some topics – especially those in the domain of attitudes and values, such as homosexuality and masturbation. The study concludes that, although parents may object to the inclusion of some topics, they generally support the provision of SRE in schools. It is hoped that the results of this study will help to overcome some of the resistance to a more widespread introduction of SRE in Tanzanian schools that rests on fears of parental reaction.     

Effects of personal and professional factors on teachers’ attitudes towards inclusion in preschool

Attitudes towards inclusive education have a crucial place in the effective implementation of inclusion practices. The aim of this study was to explore teachers’ attitudes towards inclusive education in preschool education in Portugal and to identify teachers’ personal and professional variables that influence these attitudes. The data were collected from a sample composed of 68 preschool teachers working in mainstream schools located in urban and rural areas. The results indicated overall positive attitudes towards inclusion. Having previous personal contact with a person with special educational needs predicted more positive affective attitudes, whereas having previous experience teaching classes that included students with and without special educational needs predicted less positive behavioural intentions. From these results, we infer an emergent need for continuous training and for the promotion of positive attitudes among preschool teachers to achieve the successful implementation of inclusion at this educational level.     

Factors related to teachers' attitudes towards the inclusive education of students with severe intellectual disabilities in Riyadh,Saudi

In Saudi Arabia, the majority of students with severe intellectual disabilities are still educated in special schools that do not meet their unique needs for interaction with their typically developing peers in public schools settings where they could improve social, communication and academic skills. One of the most significant obstacles to inclusion of this group of students is teachers' perspectives regarding inclusive education for this category of students. As a result, this study examined teachers' perspectives regarding the inclusion of students with severe intellectual disabilities using a quantitative approach. In addition, this study also examined the relationship between teachers' perspectives regarding the inclusion of students with severe intellectual disabilities and current teaching position, training, teacher's levels of education, previous teaching experience with any kind of disabilities in inclusive settings, grade level being taught, teacher's gender and whether they have a family member with a disability. Three hundred and three teachers responded to the Opinions Relative to inclusion of Students with Disabilities (ORI: Arabic version) survey, including 161 males and 139 females, and three non‐specified gender. A two‐way analysis of covariance (ANCOVA), a one‐way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and an independent t‐test were used to answer the research questions. The findings of the study indicate that teachers have slightly negative perspectives towards the inclusive education of students with severe intellectual disabilities. Significant factors regarding teachers' perspectives towards the inclusion of this group of students included their current teaching position, previous teaching experience with students who had any kind of disability in inclusive settings and the teacher's gender.     

Pre-service teachers’ attitude towards inclusive education for students with Autism Spectrum Disorder in Malaysia

In this study, the pre-service teachers’ attitudes towards the educational inclusion for students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) were investigated to identify their attitudinal patterns and predictors. An attitudinal survey was conducted with 264 pre-service teachers in a teacher training programme in Malaysia. The study involved 151 special education pre-service teachers and 181 pre-service teachers in Special Education, Sciences, and in English teacher training programmes, in order to identify the effects of teaching specialisations and societal attitude on their inclusive education attitudinal measures. The findings revealed that the special education pre-service teachers were less in favour of the total inclusion of students with ASD in the mainstream, when compared with the non-special education pre-service teachers. The findings also revealed the combined effects of societal attitude and a categorical teacher training model in shaping the pre-service teachers’ attitudes towards inclusive education for the students with ASD in Malaysia. Such combined effects offered a perspective to explain the delay in the implementation of inclusive education, and also the prospect of its future development in the Southeast Asian region.     

‘It's good to teach them,but … they should also know when to apply it’: parents’ views and attitudes towards Fiji's Family Life Education curriculum

A Family Life Education (FLE) curriculum was introduced in Fiji schools in 2010 in response to concern about increasing teenage pregnancies and young people's vulnerability to sexually transmitted infections and other health and social problems. However, conservative and suspicious parental attitudes towards FLE have been an obstacle. The need for an educational programme for parents to complement the FLE curriculum taught in schools is now urgent. This study examines parents' views on the sex and sexuality component of the FLE curriculum. Data were collected from 474 individuals using questionnaires, focus groups and face-to-face interviews. Participants represented different ethnic groups with Indigenous Fijians, women and Christians in the majority. The influence of the Christian religion on negative attitudes towards homosexuality and the use of protection is strong, as is parents' resistance to discussing sex education with their children. The paper concludes with suggestions on how to counter parents’ resistance to what they negatively perceive as Western or unbiblical ideas.     

Attitudes of parents towards inclusive education: a review of the literature

The aim of this study is to review literature about parents’ attitudes towards inclusive education. Special attention is paid to parents’ attitudes and to the effect of these on the social participation of children with special needs in regular schools. A review of the literature resulted in 10 studies showing that the majority of parents hold positive attitudes. However, parents of children with special needs reported various concerns, including the availability of services in regular schools and individualised instruction. Several variables were found which relate to parents’ attitudes, such as social‐economic status, education level, experience with inclusion and type of disability. No studies examined the effects of parental attitudes on the social participation of children with special needs. The importance of positive parental attitudes is elaborated in the discussion.     

Parents' Attitudes Towards Science and their Children's Science Achievement

Although countries worldwide are emphasizing the importance of science education for technological development and global economic competition, comparative findings from standardized international student assessments reveal a huge gap in science scores between developed and developing countries. Certain developed economies too have made little progress in raising science achievement over the past decade. Despite school improvement being placed high on the policy agenda, the results of such actions have been poor. Therefore, there is a need to explore additional ways in which science achievement can be enhanced. This study focuses on the family and examines whether parents' attitudes towards science (how much they value science and the importance they place on it) can influence their children's science achievement. Individual- and school-level data are obtained from the Program for International Student Assessment 2006 survey for 15 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and non-OECD countries. Hierarchical linear modelling is employed to estimate the equations. The findings indicate that parents' attitudes towards science have a positive and statistically significant effect on science achievement, after controlling for other important student- and school-level variables. Moreover, students from poor backgrounds appear to benefit from more positive parental science attitudes as much as students from high socioeconomic status, such that equality of student achievement is not affected. This study recommends that schools and teachers encourage parents to play a more pro-active role in their children's science education, as well as educate parents about the importance of science and strategies that can be adopted to support their children's science learning.     

Do you know what I'm thinking? A comparison of teacher and parent perspectives of underachieving gifted students' attitudes

The Achievement Orientation Model posits students are motivated to do well in school when they believe they have the necessary skills to perform a task (self-efficacy), find the task meaningful (goal valuation), and see their environment as supportive. When these factors are present, students self-regulate and achieve. We examined these factors from underachieving gifted students', their parents', and teachers' perspectives. Results indicated teachers recognize students who are confident and not confident about their abilities to be academically successful; however, they are less able to recognize when students value the work they are encountering in school. Parents' perceptions of students' attitudes more closely correlated with students' perceptions than teachers' perceptions correlated with students' perceptions. Teachers and parents appeared to base their perception of the importance students hold for school on their perception of students' self-regulation. Furthermore, gender differences existed in students' perceptions. Females' self-efficacy scores were statistically lower than males' self-efficacy scores, and males' self-regulation scores were lower than females' self-regulation scores. We provide suggestions for how school psychologists may use these findings to (a) collect important information from students, teachers, and parents, (b) interpret these data to identify underlying influential factors, and (c) guide the development of appropriate interventions to address student underachievement.     

Parents' reflections on their children being excluded

Abstract

The human cost of exclusion is not confined to the student. Parents of excluded students feel they are judged as unworthy parents and are mere observers to a decision that has radical implications for their son's/daughter's future education. As partners in the educational enterprise of their child, they are often powerless in the exclusion process and are voiceless in the discourse that surrounds the decision to exclude as well as the decisions regarding future education options. The parents' experience of exclusion is a side of the exclusion story that is not often heard. This article describes how a group of parents experienced their son's/daughter's mainstream schooling and exclusion from a mainstream secondary school. The parents' story is passionate, painful and poignant. It highlights the need for the continued development of inclusive practices in mainstream schools.     

Home-School Relations in Hong Kong: Separation or Partnership

This article contains an analysis of both qualitative and quantitative data about the perception of both parents and school personnel on parents' participation at different levels of school activities. Findings indicated that most of the school personnel demonstrated unwelcome attitudes towards parent involvement and parents themselves did not like to become school managers either. Both of them expressed the intention of separate responsibilities in school management. It is recommended that schools should develop a school-based strategy to promote home-school cooperation. Besides, there is a need to establish parent schools to educate parents in their rights and responsibilities in participating in school education.     

Teacher attitude towards inclusion practices and special needs students

This paper investigates the varying attitudes of regular (mainstream) education teachers towards the implementation of inclusion in elementary and secondary school classrooms. This paper tries to take into account the need for a better understanding of teacher attitude towards inclusion and how the inclusive environment can be improved. The present paper concentrates on examining whether there is a difference in attitude between elementary regular education teachers and secondary regular education teachers. The participants of this study were 73 teachers from three public elementary and secondary schools in rural, southeastern USA who completed the Scale of Teachers' Attitudes Towards Inclusive Classrooms (STATIC). The results indicated that most teachers support the practice of inclusion in regular education classrooms or possess a neutral consensus towards the practice of inclusion as it relates to teaching assignment. For example, grade level, subject area or type of inclusion practice (full or partial). Meaning that the results for this study were mixed.     

Developing inclusive practice: teacher perceptions of opportunities and constraints in the Republic of Ireland

There has been a significant policy shift from parallel systems of special and mainstream education in the Republic of Ireland towards provision underpinned by enabling legislation with a presumption for inclusion. The role of teachers in establishing inclusive learning environments is critical and it is generally accepted that inclusive practice relies to a large extent on teacher knowledge, skills, understanding, capacity and attitudes. This exploratory study aimed to gather information on teachers' attitudes about inclusion, and perceived constraints in creating inclusive learning environments. A range of schools from urban, semi-urban, provincial and rural backgrounds were included and data were collected using semi-structured interviews (n?=?24) including all principals, class teachers and support staff in the participating schools. Teachers recognised the challenge of responding appropriately to diversity within schools and are generally supportive of the principle of inclusion. However, there are clear concerns around their individual capacity and the capacity of their schools to develop inclusive learning environments. A positive school ethos was a significant factor in ensuring inclusive practice. International research indicates that the complex mix of positive teacher beliefs combined with fears and perceived inadequacies is quite common in the evolution of practice towards inclusive learning environments.     

Living with autistic spectrum disorder: parental experiences of raising a child with autistic spectrum disorder (ASD)

The focus of the study was to explore parental experiences of raising a child with autistic spectrum disorder (ASD). A mixed‐method approach consisting of questionnaires and semi‐structured interviews was used in order to elicit parental perspectives of raising a child with ASD. Two semi‐structured interviews were conducted with parents of children with ASD. Questionnaires were sent to parents of children with ASD in two special schools. The findings indicate that although each of the parents had a child with ASD, their experiences were all different. Many interesting accounts were documented and a wealth of information regarding the characteristic traits that children with ASD portray was recorded. The findings suggested that the majority of the parents experienced a low level of support from agencies and professionals. The general verdict was that of poor communication and a lack of understanding of parents' needs following formal diagnosis. Finally, a series of coping strategies were discovered ranging from family support to paid help.     

What factors influence the decisions of parents of children with special educational needs when choosing a secondary educational provision for their child at change of phase from primary to secondary education? A review of the literature

This review presents the results of a literature scoping exercise looking at the decisions parents of children with special educational needs (SEN) make when choosing a secondary placement to send their child at change of phase. The review reports on studies that were conducted in England and other areas of the UK as well as in Australia and the USA because there has been only a limited amount of research into this area conducted in an English context. In addition, some of the papers do not discuss school choice specifically but cover related themes. The study identifies a number of broad factors that impact on parents' decision‐making: the age of the child, the nature and degree of the SEN; the socio‐economic status of the parents; the child's experience of inclusion in the primary phase; the secondary schools philosophy, capacity and perceived commitment to SEN; beliefs about teacher's skills, knowledge, capacity and attitudes; and the influence of other people, for example family, friends and professionals.