Mainstream teachers’ concerns about inclusive education for children with special educational needs and disability in England under pre-pandemic conditions

A survey-based investigation of teachers’ concerns was conducted the following adaptation of Sharma and Desai’s ‘Concerns about Integrated Education (CIE) Scale’ two decades ago. The terminology was adjusted and ‘integrated’ became ‘inclusive’, and ‘Special Educational Needs and / or Disability (SEND)’ replaced ‘disability’ in a novel ‘Concerns about Inclusive Education Scale’. A purposive sample included the public and private education sectors. An online questionnaire was completed in April 2020 (n = 93) by teachers (66: state mainstream, 18: independent, 5: UK-based international schools, 3: SEND specialists, 1: alternative provision). Statistical analysis of closed questions aimed to identify teachers’ concerns about IE for children with SEND and was complemented by qualitative analysis of data generated through open-ended questions. Varied understandings of what IE means and longstanding concerns were identified. The highest level of concern was evidenced around resources, specifically, funding for specialist and support staff, resources, and appropriate infrastructure. Qualitative data analysis suggested that children with SEND risk being perceived as an onerous adjunct to an already stressful ‘regular’ teaching role. Few respondents mentioned national performance monitoring and accountability regimes in this context and, instead, viewed additional paraprofessional and external support as self-evident solutions to excessive workloads, neglecting the implications for equity in education.     

Moving towards inclusion: how Zanzibar succeeds in transforming its education system?

Ever since the proclamation of the Salamanca Statement (1994) and the Dakar Framework for Action (2000), several countries across the globe have been improving their education systems making remarkable efforts towards inclusion. Furthermore, the Muscat Agreement (2014) proposes a global goal and targets for education post-2015. The goal envisages equitable inclusive quality education and lifelong learning for all by 2030. This article inquires how Zanzibar, a semi-autonomous part of Tanzania along the East African coast, started to transform its education system in an attempt to make it inclusive. First, the commitment to and process towards Inclusive Education (IE) is described in the time frame of changes in education. Second, thematic analysis is conducted to examine the contextualisation and definition of the concept of IE, the introduction of relevant legislation, introduction of Inclusive and Learner Friendly Education Policy, and the support provided for teachers to implement IE practices in the classrooms. Finally, the IE development in Zanzibar is compared to similar processes in sub-Saharan Africa.     

Measuring perceived school support for inclusive education in Bangladesh: the development of a context-specific scale

International studies have identified that teachers require adequate support, including human and material resources, if they are to successfully implement inclusive education (IE) in regular classes. Past research shows that the level of support teachers feel they are receiving, from members of the school community and in the provision of appropriate teaching resources and training, may influence their attitudes towards IE and their willingness to undertake IE. Conceptualizing perceived school support as a subjective norm within the theory of planned behaviour, a context-specific, ‘Perceived School Support for Inclusive Education’ (PSSIE) scale was developed to measure teachers’ perceptions of support. This paper reports the development process of the PSSIE scale which included item generation, content validation and statistical procedures. Using a four-stage sampling method, a sample of 1,387 primary school teachers from the Dhaka Division of Bangladesh was selected for this study. The results provide preliminary evidence that the PSSIE (with eight items) meets the standards for reliability and, thus, presents as a useful scale by which to measure teachers’ perceptions of school support for implementing IE. The paper also illustrates limitations and direction for further studies.     

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.     

Teachers’ attitudes towards inclusive education: a critical review of published questionnaires

Teachers’ attitudes towards inclusive education affect its successful implementation within mainstream schools. This paper reviews nine questionnaires which capture primary school teachers’ attitudes towards inclusion, with the aim to support researchers in selecting the most appropriate measure according to the purpose of their study. Most of the reviewed questionnaires showed acceptable reliability and validity. The Multidimensional Attitudes towards Inclusive Education Scale (MATIES) and the Sentiments, Attitudes, and Concerns about Inclusive Education Revised Scale (SACIE-R) were the only questionnaires with adequate psychometric properties which addressed the affective, cognitive and behavioural components of teachers’ attitudes. As another psychometrically sound scale, the Teachers’ Attitude towards Inclusion Scale (TAIS) was found to use more up-to-date terminology and suitably addressed the cognitive and behavioural components. This paper provides a useful resource to facilitate the appropriate selection of questionnaires that measure teachers’ attitudes towards inclusion.     

Making the grade: teacher training for inclusive education: A systematic review

The role of teacher training, as it pertains to the adoption of inclusive education (IE) (European Journal of Special, 22, 2007, 367), is critical in realizing and achieving truly IE environments. Literature often reports poor or inadequate training with regard to IE practices (Preparing Teachers of the Deaf for a Complex, Jacksonville, FL). The purpose of this review was to examine North American and Australian research regarding teacher training for students with disabilities (SWD) with the goal of informing best practice. Of the 27 reviewed studies, teacher training interventions reported positive outcomes and showed improvements in the areas of teachers’ attitudes/perceptions, knowledge, and strategies/skill development (Teacher Education and Special Education: The Journal of the Teacher Education Division of the Council for Exceptional Children, 32, 2009, 166) regarding IE SWD. The researchers cautiously recommend the employment of workshop style approaches as they appear to have the capacity to tackle all three outcome variables concurrently and within the shortest timeframe. Our restrained recommendations for best practice are born out of the quality of evidence presented within the reviewed studies.     

A Comparison of Special,General and Support Teachers’ Controllability and Stability Attributions for Children’s Difficulties in Learning

The study aimed to explore teachers’ attributions for learner difficulties in their schoolwork. In order to explore their attributions of controllability and stability, three groups of teachers, general mainstream class teachers (N = 39), mainstream learning support teachers (N = 35), and special school teachers (N = 25) were asked to rate vignettes about children’s difficulties. The results showed that the two groups of teachers working in the mainstream settings viewed learners with identified support needs as having less control over their performance than those with no specific support needs, while special school teachers viewed both learner groups similarly. Similar findings were found for teacher attributions of controllability in high‐ and low‐ability learners. Stability attributions across all conditions showed that special school teachers viewed children’s difficulties as more amenable to change than did the two groups of mainstream teachers. The implications of these findings for inclusion in mainstream schools are discussed.     

Addressing South African Pre-service Teachers’ Sentiments,Attitudes and Concerns Regarding Inclusive Education

This article recounts the findings of a study that investigated pre-service teachers’ attitudes and concerns regarding inclusive education and their degree of comfort when interacting with people with disabilities after completing courses on inclusive education. One hundred and eighty pre-service teachers from one higher education institution in South Africa completed the Sentiments, Attitudes and Concerns about Inclusive Education Scale. They were all being prepared to teach at either the primary (41%) or secondary (59%) level of education. Pre-service teachers’ mean scores on the sentiments scale increased following the intervention (p < 0.001), as did the mean scores on the attitudes scale (p < 0.001). However, mean scores related to their concerns decreased (p = 0.01). With respect to the latter finding, as a result of the intervention the pre-service teachers became more worried about resources to support inclusive education (p < 0.001), the reality of large classes (p = 0.01) and their workload (p = 0.04). Recommendations based on the research findings are made, suggesting that the quality of courses on inclusive education should be enhanced in higher education institutions.     

Affordances and limitations of a special school practicum as a means to prepare pre-service teachers for inclusive education

As education systems worldwide embrace inclusive education in some form, pre-service teachers need to be prepared to be pedagogically responsive to diverse students and learning needs. While much learning for inclusion takes place in course work in higher education institutions, field experiences, including practicum placements, can complement this learning. Using Loreman's [2010a. “Essential Inclusive Education-Related Outcomes for Alberta Preservice Teachers.” The Alberta Journal of Educational Research 56 (2): 124–142] seven areas of essential learning for inclusion, with the addition of Waitoller and Kozleski's [2010. “Inclusive Professional Learning Schools.” In Teacher Education for Inclusion, edited by C. Forlin, 65–73. London: Routledge] idea of ‘critical sensibilities’, this article considers the extent to which a practicum experience in a special school might contribute to learning for inclusion. The main findings of a small-scale qualitative study with 15 South African pre-service teachers suggest that the practicum placement exposes them to children with disabilities and learning difficulties, resulting in a growth of understanding of their learning needs. It also enhances pre-service teachers' ability to plan lessons and draw on a range of instructional strategies to enable learning for all. For some pre-service teachers, however, the practicum convinced them of the benefits of separate special education and the unfeasibility of inclusion. We conclude that a special school practicum has value for pre-service teachers, provided that opportunities are made available for critical engagement with the potential for both inclusion and exclusion of students with special educational needs in different types of school.     

The three-tiered support system and the special education teachers’ role in Swedish-speaking schools in Finland

ABSTRACT

In 2010, new amendments regarding special education were made to the Finnish Basic Education Act (642/2010), and they were officially adopted in 2011. The three-tiered support system that was introduced can be considered the Finnish approach to moving education toward a more inclusive system since it emphasises all teachers’ responsibility to deliver support within the regular educational setting, representing a new feature in the policy documents. This has brought about new expectations for special education teachers’ (SETs’) roles. Our research aims to contribute to knowledge about the implementation of the three-tiered support system and SETs’ roles in Swedish-speaking schools in Finland. The data were collected using a questionnaire (N = 158). The results indicate that the SETs have an important role in the three-tiered support system, both as those with the knowledge and those who share this knowledge. The SETs’ role is more evident when it comes to pupils receiving support on the second and third tiers. Although inclusive values are emphasised in the policy documents, the SETs still use most of their time teaching pupils in educational settings that are often relatively segregated (individual or small-group teaching), and for example, co-teaching seems to be a less frequent approach to collaboration.     

School teachers' perception about distributed leadership practices for inclusive education in primary schools in Bangladesh

This article reports on the third phase of a larger study that explored the perceptions of teachers about distributed leadership practices for inclusive education (IE) in primary schools involved in IE reform in Bangladesh. The Distributed Leadership Practice for Inclusive Education scale was developed specifically for this study to collect data. Participants for the present study were head teachers and teachers from 308 public primary schools. The results of this study indicate that teachers perceived that distributed leadership practices for IE were present in primary schools in Bangladesh. The findings indicate that teachers' perceptions about distributed leadership practices for IE have a significant positive correlation with their satisfaction about the implementation of IE policy.     

An examination of Chinese preservice and inservice early childhood teachers’ perspectives on the importance and feasibility of the implementation of key characteristics of quality inclusion

The Chinese Preschool Inclusion Survey, which is an adaptation of Odom et al. [2004. ‘Preschool inclusion in the United States: A review of research from an ecological systems perspective’. Journal of Research in Special Educational Needs 4 (1): 17–149] a list of the features of quality preschools, was given to 234 preservice teachers and 307 inservice teachers in a large Chinese province so as to examine whether early childhood education (ECE) teachers agree on the key characteristics of high quality inclusion in terms of importance and feasibility. One significant finding of the study is that both preservice and inservice teachers highly ranked the importance of the key characteristics of high quality inclusion in ECE settings, yet both ECE teachers ranked the feasibility of implementing the key characteristics lower. Additionally, two factors that influenced preservice teachers’ perceived importance and feasibility of inclusion were years of study and courses related to special education, and five factors that influenced inservice teachers’ perceived inclusion beliefs were bianzhi, certification, years of teaching, opportunities for professional development and degree. Teacher education reform is called upon to affect change in terms of creating positive beliefs regarding high quality inclusion services and implementation of effective practices in stronger, collaborative support systems for Chinese children with special needs and their families. Implications for policy, professional development, and teacher education reform are provided.     

Productive pedagogies and the challenge of inclusion

Julie Allan is Professor of Education at the Institute of Education, University of Stirling, where she also directs the Participation, Inclusion and Equity Research Network. In this article, she explores the challenges involved in achieving an inclusive education system. Her argument draws on recommendations from two separate studies, undertaken in Queensland, Australia and Scotland, which are attempting to shape inclusion policy and practice. The Queensland School Reform Longitudinal Study identified a set of productive pedagogies in which issues of social justice, equity and inclusion are foregrounded. The Scottish Parliamentary Inquiry into special needs, to which Professor Allan was adviser, recommended a number of changes aimed at establishing an inclusive education system for all pupils. Comparisons of the two sets of recommendations, which formed the basis of a series of workshops with teachers, school leaders and administrators within Education Queensland, have prompted two major questions which are addressed in this paper: what gets in the way of inclusive practice and what will it take to be inclusive? Julie Allan's responses to these questions take account of the ways in which we think about ‘special education’ teacher training and professional development; and educational policies and practices. She represents a fascinating set of ‘double‐edged responsibilities’ that will challenge practitioners, policy makers and teacher educators to refocus and reframe their thinking about special educational needs and inclusion.     

The discrepancy between teachers’ beliefs and practices: a study of kindergarten teachers in Hong Kong

This study examines the discrepancy between teachers’ beliefs and practices in Hong Kong kindergartens and the factors that influence this discrepancy. Three kindergartens, considered by the Hong Kong Education Bureau to be of varying quality, were chosen from different areas of Hong Kong. Questionnaires about teaching beliefs were administered to 35 teachers from these kindergartens. These quantitative data were supplemented with qualitative data gathered during individual interviews with five of the teachers and the three principals. In addition, a focus group of five early childhood education specialists commented on the videotaped observations of the classroom practices of the five interviewed teachers. The findings showed that all of the teachers endorsed the advocated teaching beliefs, but there was a discrepancy between their beliefs and practices. The most significant factors contributing to the discrepancy were teachers’ professional education and their attitudes towards personal teaching introspection. Teachers were also under pressure from parents’ curriculum requests, demands on the children’s academic abilities and expectations for a strong link to Primary One. Enhanced early childhood education training that helps teachers to be introspective about their own teaching practices and beliefs is recommended. Government support is also required to teach parents what constitutes a high-quality learning environment for young children.     

Swedish primary‐school teachers’ attitudes to inclusion – the case of PE and pupils with physical disabilities

Teachers play a decisive role in making inclusive education a reality. The particular case of inclusion in physical education (PE) poses a specific challenge to teaching practice. How PE teachers view inclusion may provide special insights into teachers’ general attitudes toward inclusion and inclusive practices in the general school curriculum. The aim of this study is to investigate Swedish PE teachers’ attitudes to inclusion of pupils with physical disabilities in mainstream PE classes at primary school. The sampling frame was members of the Swedish Teachers’ Union who had registered themselves as PE teachers and who indicated a current e‐mail address (n = 560). Respondents were invited to complete an e‐mail questionnaire with questions covering demographics, general attitudes, support from school management and staff, possible hindrances and personal experiences of inclusion. A total of 221 teachers (39%) responded, equal numbers of males and females with a bimodal age distribution (means of 28 and 44) with an average of eight years of service. On average, Swedish PE teachers are very positive to inclusion of pupils with physical disabilities into general PE. Gender, age, years of service and work satisfaction had no impact on general opinions of inclusive PE. PE teachers with actual previous experience of teaching pupils with physical disabilities were slightly more positive to inclusive PE. Stepwise multiple regressions were used to establish a predictive model of positive attitudes to inclusion based on: (1) having adequate training; (2) having general school support (from management and staff); and (3) demands on resources. This yielded an adjusted R ² that explained 33% of variation in attitudes.     

Inclusion Practices in Elementary Physical Education: A Social-cognitive Perspective

This study explored inclusion practices in general physical education (GPE) from the experiences and perspectives of elementary physical education teachers. The stories of four teachers (two females, two males) between 27 and 57 years of age were gathered using the phenomenological methods of semi-structured interviews, photographs, school documents, and field notes. Bandura’s social-cognitive theory provided a conceptual framework to interpret the findings of this inquiry. Three themes emerged from the thematic analysis: engaging in learning; adapting strategies to meet students’ needs; and moving beyond the educational goals. The findings suggest that inclusion practices (teacher’s behaviours) in GPE were constructed by the dynamic interactions between teachers’ knowledge of disability and motivation to learn about their students (personal factors) and children’s needs and learning goals (environment).     

Understanding inclusive education practices in schools under local government jurisdiction: a study of Khon Kaen Municipality in Thailand

This article investigates inclusive education practices in schools under the jurisdiction of Thai local government through a study of schools in Khon Kaen Municipality in Northeastern Thailand. Thailand’s 1997 Constitution and 1999 National Education Act both legislated that the educational system must become inclusive, and under these laws schools are required to admit all groups of children, including children with special educational needs (SEN). This study sheds light on the situation of inclusive education in schools with regard to administrators’ policy implementation, teachers’ practices, and parents’ perception of inclusive education management. The findings derive from a survey of 11 school administrators, 114 teachers, and 274 parents (of 137 regular and 137 students with SEN), together with six focus groups with administrators and teachers from six schools. The results demonstrate that most school leaders support inclusive classrooms, most teachers are willing to work with SEN students, and parents of regular students accept the concept of inclusion. Actual practices of inclusive education vary, however, depending upon the perception of administrators and the will of the teachers to implement inclusive education. Furthermore, the results demonstrate that the policy of the municipality may have resulted in the development of inclusive practices in schools under its jurisdiction.     

How to make the neighbourhood school a school for all?

A new special education strategy was launched in Finland by the Ministry of Education in 2007. The new Basic Act was enacted in 2010 and the new national core curriculum concerning three‐tiered support for pupils in 2011. Since the 1990s, teachers across Finland have participated in developing Finnish basic education towards greater inclusion. The goal of this study was to enhance understanding of the implementation of the Finnish educational reforms. In this study, teachers' perceptions of good inclusive teaching arrangements were analysed and compared with the theories of inclusive education. There is still a lack of information available on the implementation of inclusive education practices, and especially about teachers' experiences of teaching in inclusive classrooms. In 2010, basic education teachers (N = 327) in Lapland, Finland, were asked to describe their experiences and perceptions of inclusive teaching arrangements. The results indicated that teaching practices have become more diverse, flexible and differentiated, enabling teaching of diverse groups. More and more teachers preferred teaching in teams and planning their work together, showing that changes in schools change the teacher's profession too. In this study, a framework for inclusive schools was constructed through implementing the indexes of inclusion created by Booth and Ainscow.     

Inclusive physical education? A study of the management of national curriculum physical education and unplanned outcomes in England

One key aspect of the growing policy emphasis on educational inclusion in England has been the tendency for physical education (PE) to be used as an important vehicle of social policy targeted at promoting the inclusion of young disabled people and those with special educational needs in mainstream schools. Drawing on aspects of figurational sociology, the central objective of this study is to examine the extent to which PE teachers have been able to achieve the government’s inclusion policy goals articulated in the 2000 National Curriculum for Physical Education (NCPE) for England. The findings indicate that using the NCPE as a means to pursue the government’s educational inclusion policy goals has had unplanned outcomes that have the effect of undermining the extent to which the government is able to use inclusion to make a greater contribution to the promotion of young people’s experiences of PE. It is also argued that these outcomes that no‐one had planned or intended may, for some of the groups involved, be seen as undesirable consequences that emanate from teachers’ attempts to manage the contradictory pressures brought about by pursuing the priorities of government.     

Preservice teachers' attitudes toward inclusion: Early childhood education and elementary education programs

Abstract

Teachers’ attitudes toward inclusion of children with disabilities play a central role in the successful inclusion of these children into general education classrooms. This study examined possible predictors of preservice teachers’ attitudes toward (1) persons with disabilities, and (2) inclusion of children with disabilities into general education classrooms. Participants were students majoring in early childhood education and elementary education. Preservice teachers’ attitudes toward persons with disabilities and inclusion were explained significantly by their personal relationships with persons who have disabilities and the number of courses related to special education/teaching strategies taken. However, preservice teachers’ experiences working with persons who have disabilities was not a significant predictor. Further, the relations between preservice teachers’ attitudes toward inclusion and personal experience variables were mediated by their attitudes toward persons with disabilities. This study provides evidence that more effective, practical experiences and course content related to children with disabilities, inclusion, and teaching strategies need to be provided in teacher education programs to support successful efforts with inclusion. This study also suggests that teacher education programs should strive to improve students’ attitudes toward inclusion, as well as toward persons with disabilities.