Regular primary schoolteachers’ attitudes towards inclusive education: a review of the literature

Teachers are seen as key persons to implement inclusive education. Positive attitudes are therefore argued as playing a considerable role in implementing this educational change successfully. The aim of this study is to examine what attitudes teachers hold towards inclusive education, which variables are related to their attitudes and if these affect the social participation of pupils with special needs in regular schools. A review of 26 studies revealed that the majority of teachers hold neutral or negative attitudes towards the inclusion of pupils with special needs in regular primary education. No studies reported clear positive results. Several variables are found which relate to teachers’ attitudes, such as training, experience with inclusive education and pupils’ type of disability. No conclusion could be drawn regarding the effects of teachers’ attitudes on the social participation of pupils with special needs.     

Citizenship and Personal, Social and Health Education in Catholic Secondary Schools: Stakeholders' Views

During 1999–2000, the writer carried out a survey of six randomly selected Catholic secondary schools in England to examine the attitudes of stakeholder groups towards Citizenship and Personal, Social and Health Education. Questionnaires were completed by six governors, 12 parents, 139 pupils, 12 teachers and six school leaders, providing insight into perceptions of the purposes of selected components of Citizenship and Personal, Social and Health Education, viz. Citizenship Education, Moral Education and Sex Education. Drawing on Hornsby-Smith's (1996) definition of contrasting perspectives, which he characterises as 'Open' and 'Closed' Catholicism, the enquiry located attitudes of the stakeholder groups along a continuum of values. While there was evidence of consensus across stakeholder groups within each component, differences in attitudes were also identified. The results indicated that governors and school leaders adopt more 'Open' attitudes towards Citizenship Education compared with pupils, teachers and parents; that school leaders adopt more 'Open' attitudes towards Moral Education compared with pupils; and that pupils and teachers adopt more 'Open' attitudes towards Sex Education compared with governors. One conclusion is that these results demonstrate that, when traditional religious values are challenged by rapid social and technological changes, stakeholder groups in faith schools are faced with added tensions to resolve.     

Social Capital and Mathematics Achievement of Fourth and Fifth Grade Children in Segregated Primary Schools

ABSTRACT

Scholars have consistently demonstrated that the socioeconomic composition of the pupil body is related to academic achievement. The effect of ethnic/immigrant concentration, on the other hand, is more controversial, as some have found no impact of the ethnic/immigrant composition when other aspects were taken into account. Social capital theory claims that it is possible to compensate for a disadvantaged background or school composition when pupils benefit from being integrated in specific social structures. This article tests whether social capital is positively related to the mathematics achievement of pupils in the fourth and fifth grades of Flemish primary schools in which most of the pupils have a low socioeconomic and/or an ethnic/immigrant background (i.e. segregated schools).     

British South Asians and pathways into selective schooling: social class,culture and ethnicity

This article is a theoretical and empirical study of the ways in which different South Asian groups, Bangladeshi, Indian, and Pakistani, achieve entry into the selective education system, taking into consideration the factors of social class, ethnicity and culture. In‐depth interviews with 42 South Asian school pupils from three single‐sex selective schools (one independent and two grammar), 47 South Asian school pupils from three secondary modern schools, and 25 South Asian parents are used to interpret perceptions, attitudes towards, and experiences of selective school entry. It is found that that certain working‐class South Asian parents possess strong middle‐class attitudes towards selective education, irrespective of their ability to facilitate it as a function of their financial, cultural, or social capital. Middle‐class South Asians were not only highly motivated but also possessed the economic, social and cultural capital to ensure successful selective school entry. In general, social class status was the strongest factor in the likelihood of gaining entry into selective schools. This research contributes to the literature on selective education as well as on the intricacies of the British South Asian educational experience.     

Teachers’ perceptions,attitudes and feelings towards pupils of Roma origin*

In this paper, the focus is on schools’ responses to multiculturalism. We present a research project that was designed to explore feelings, perceptions and attitudes of teachers towards pupils of Roma origin in two different Greek schools. Our research strategy involved case studies and in-depth semi-structured interview was our main research technique. The findings suggest that there is a need to rethink and further investigate the issue of who is best suited to teach pupils of Roma origin in Greek schools. We believe that our research could help policymakers, educational administrators and teachers to better understand Roma pupils’ educational needs and plan ways to improve it.     

Critical adult learning of asian immigrant workers: A social network perspective

An earlier version of this paper was presented at the 2006 Adult Education Research Conference, May 20, Minneapolis, Minnesota. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to This study reveals how the social networks of immigrant workers play a key role in mediating critical learning towards a particular political attitude. Theoretical relationships between critical learning and political attitudes were set up and four types of political attitudes were identified. A “resistant political attitude” was conceptually linked to critical learning, and this link was investigated by using social network analysis. Finally, based on the social network analysis, we argue that both the network size and network position of immigrant workers who represented a resistant political attitude tended to shape critical adult learning when they were associated with the collective reinterpretation of the immigrant workers’ social lives.     

Examining Changing Attitudes in Secondary School Science

This study, carried out in England, examined the variation of attitudes towards science over the first three years of secondary schooling and with gender. The study in question was part of an evaluation of the “Lab in a Lorry” project, and involved 932 pupils completing a pre‐measure questionnaire containing items looking at six separate attitude constructs. From these data, two main patterns emerged; pupils’ attitudes towards science declined as they progressed through secondary school, and this decline was more pronounced for female pupils. These conclusions are largely in agreement with previous studies in this field. However, in examining separate attitude constructs, we were also able to identify that the sharpest decline occurred specifically for pupils’ attitude towards learning science in school. Furthermore, using linear regression, we identified that, as pupils progress through school, this construct becomes a greater influence on attitudes towards future participation in science. Therefore, we also concluded that learning science in school is a particular area that needs to be concentrated upon, if we are to improve children’s attitudes towards science. In the final part of the paper, we drew on interview data obtained from 44 pupils involved in the Lab in a Lorry study. Pupils’ comments in these interviews provided further insight into why pupils are “switched off” by school science. We drew out the most prevalent themes that emerged in the interviews, in order to provide further insight into why pupils do not enjoy science in school.     

The impact of social capital in socio-emotional competencies of Spanish and immigrant adolescents from the Southeast of Spain

How important is the role that the different social institutions play in adolescents’ emotional development? This study alludes to the social capital framework to explain the influence that the family, school and peer relations have on the social-emotional competencies (SEC) of adolescents, immigrants and locals living in Southeastern Spain. Three social capital and socio-emotional competencies assessments scales were used in the study with 1614 pupils from 7 secondary schools. The results show that: (1) The social capital is a predictive and explanatory factor in adolescence. (2) The social relations that influence the SEC the most are those developed at school, followed by peer relations and, lastly, the family. (3) Spanish and Romanian teenagers show higher social capital and more SEC than Moroccans. (4) There are SEC gender differences among the Spanish group. (5) An immigrant school puzzle is observed in the Moroccan teenagers group who value school the most. (6) The family’s low emotional influence, particularly among Moroccan women, suggests that there is a deterioration of the institution and the existence of inter-generational differences. According to the results, schools remain a privileged space for SEC intervention programmes.     

The impact of social capital in socio-emotional competencies of Spanish and immigrant adolescents from the southeast of Spain

How important is the role that the different social institutions play in adolescents’ emotional development? This study alludes to the social capital framework to explain the influence that the family, school and peer relations have on the social-emotional competencies (SEC) of adolescents, immigrants and locals living in Southeastern Spain. Three social capital and socio-emotional competencies assessments scales were used in the study with 1614 pupils from 7 secondary schools. The results show that: (1) The social capital is a predictive and explanatory factor in adolescence. (2) The social relations that influence the SEC the most are those developed at school, followed by peer relations and, lastly, the family. (3) Spanish and Romanian teenagers show higher social capital and more SEC than Moroccans. (4) There are SEC gender differences among the Spanish group. (5) An immigrant school puzzle is observed in the Moroccan teenagers group who value school the most. (6) The family’s low emotional influence, particularly among Moroccan women, suggests that there is a deterioration of the institution and the existence of inter-generational differences. According to the results, schools remain a privileged space for SEC intervention programmes.     

TEACHER TRAINING AND SCHOOL PRACTICE

In their previous article (Educational Research, 13, 1) the authors discussed the attitudes of 1,000 pupils in selective secondary schools towards literature generally and towards GCE ‘O’ and ‘A’ level examinations. In that article they explored pupils’ expressed likes and dislikes of texts prescribed by GCE examining boards; they now consider these same pupils’ preferences in their leisure reading, and conclude that present methods of teaching English often fail to take into account ‘consumer’ response, particularly in poetry and drama reading.     

Inclusive education for pupils with autistic spectrum disorders in secondary mainstream schools: teacher attitudes,experience and knowledge

The aim of the current study was to examine the experience, attitudes and knowledge of school staff in relation to inclusive education for pupils with autistic spectrum disorders (ASDs) in mainstream secondary schools. Fifty-three participants from 11 secondary schools in the north-west of England completed a survey that covered socio-demographic information and teaching experience, perceptions of inclusion within their school, experience and knowledge of ASDs, influences on integration of pupils with ASDs, ability to cope with behaviours associated with ASDs and benefits and problems associated with integration of pupils with ASD in mainstream schools. Respondents tended to indicate positive attitudes towards inclusion. Our analysis also showed that senior managers and Special Educational Needs Co-ordinators reported greater self-efficacy in teaching pupils with ASD and in coping with behaviours associated with ASD than did subject teachers. Finally, respondents reported social inclusion as both a potential benefit and challenge for pupils with ASD. The implications of these findings for future training and practice are discussed.     

The impact of a cooperative learning experience on pupils’ popularity,non‐cooperativeness,and interethnic bias in multiethnic elementary schools

In this study we investigated popularity and perceived non‐cooperativeness in multiethnic elementary schools. A sample of 94 pupils aged 10–12 years, from five multiethnic elementary schools, were divided into 26 teams and participated in a structured cooperative learning (SCL) curriculum of 11 lessons. Neither teachers nor pupils had prior SCL experience. The results show that SCL time increased popularity and decreased perceived non‐cooperativeness across ethnic backgrounds. In addition, experience with SCL enhanced the popularity of immigrant pupils and decreased differences in perceived non‐cooperativeness between immigrant and non‐immigrant pupils. Importantly, SCL time only raised popularity and decreased perceived non‐cooperativeness within ethnically heterogeneous teams. This last result extends the notion that enduring interethnic contact is fruitful for interethnic friendships.     

‘This is a school,it's not a site’: Teachers' attitudes towards Gypsy and Traveller pupils in schools in England,UK

This article examines teachers' attitudes towards Gypsy and Traveller pupils in one primary and one secondary school in an inner‐London borough in England, UK. The research is based on in‐depth interviews with 20 teachers, heads, deputies and classroom assistants. The main aims of the study were to examine examples of ‘good practice’ in schools and to explore strategies that would improve the educational outcomes for Gypsy and Traveller groups. This article will argue that despite schools implementing inclusive measures for Gypsy and Traveller pupils, this alone does not encourage positive attitudes or change attitudes towards them. In some cases, such practices work to emphasise the difference and outsider status of these groups.     

农民工群体对待科学的态度及其与道德意识的关系

科学传播过程中,人们对科学持有什么样的态度,持有态度的强烈与否会直接影响着科学传播的效果,但更为重要的是,不同群体形成的对科学的态度是如何影响社会精神文化的诸方面的?社会道德意识是社会精神文化的重要组成部分,它是社会精神文化的伦理内核。研究科学传播中不同群体对科学的态度与其社会道德意识的关系,对探索科学进步与发展对社会的影响具有重要意义,对社会主义道德文明建设一样具有重要价值。本文选择了1100名农民工为样本,调查了该群体对科学的态度及其与道德意识的关系,并在此基础上对相关问题进行了讨论。     

Attitudes towards languages,contact cultures and immigrant groups according to the ethnolinguistic identity of Basque students / Actitudes hacia lenguas,culturas en contacto y grupos inmigrantes según la identidad etnolingüística de escolares vascos

This study analyses the influence of ethnolinguistic identity on attitudes of secondary school students in the Basque Autonomous Community (N = 1,065) towards the languages, cultures and linguistic groups in traditional contact, as well as the emergent immigrant groups. Four identity prototypes were obtained according to the ethnolinguistic identity of the subjects. The Dual prototype integrates Basque and Spanish identity, two prototypes show a polarized identity towards either Basque or Spanish identification, and the Diffuse identity prototype shows low identification with both Basque and Spanish. The results indicate that ethnolinguistic identity has an effect on attitudes towards the traditional contact languages and cultures. Ingroup favouritism can be observed in the polarized identity prototypes, although to varying degrees. The subjects’ differing degrees of Basque-Spanish bilingualism and biculturalism is associated with more inclusive attitudes. The effect of ethnolinguistic identity in relation to the emerging contact was small.     

The effect of immigration on the school performance of natives: Cross country evidence using PISA test scores

We use aggregate PISA data for 19 countries over the period 2000–2009 to study whether a higher share of immigrant pupils affects the school performance of natives. We find evidence of a negative and statistically significant relationship. The size of the estimated effect is small: doubling the share of immigrant pupils in secondary schools from its current sample average of 4.2–8.4 percent would reduce the test score of natives by 1–3.4 percent, depending on the selected group of natives. There is also evidence that – conditional on the average share of immigrant pupils – reducing the dispersion of this share between schools has small positive effects on the test scores of natives. Whether these findings can be generalized to a larger sample of countries is an open question that we leave to future research.     

Developing Attitudes towards Science Measures

In this study, we describe the development of measures used to examine pupils’ attitudes towards science. In particular, separate measures for attitudes towards the following areas were developed: learning science in school, practical work in science, science outside of school, importance of science, self‐concept in science, and future participation in science. In developing these measures, criticisms of previous attitude studies in science education were noted. In particular, care was taken over the definition of each of the attitude constructs, and also ensuring that each of the constructs was unidimensional. Following an initial piloting process, pupils aged 11–14 from five secondary schools throughout England completed questionnaires containing the attitude measures. These questionnaires were completed twice by pupils in these schools, with a gap of four weeks between the first and second measurements. Altogether, 932 pupils completed the first questionnaire and 668 pupils completed the second one. Factor analysis carried out on the resulting data confirmed the unidimensionality of the separate attitude constructs. Also, it was found that three of the constructs—learning science in school, science outside of school, and future participation in science—loaded on one general attitude towards science factor. Further analysis showed that all the measures showed high internal reliability (Cronbach’s α > 0.7). A particular strength of the approach used in this study was that it allowed for attitude measures to be built up step‐by‐step, therefore allowing for the future consideration of other relevant constructs.     

Assessment and interpretation of teachers’ attitudes towards students with disabilities / Evaluación e interpretación de la actitud del profesorado hacia alumnos con discapacidad

Abstract

The process of including students with disabilities is necessarily influenced by teachers’ attitudes towards them and towards their inclusion in education. After detecting the need to study the attitudes present in preschool and primary and secondary school teachers, this study was proposed as it was decided that an analysis of such attitudes could help to develop a better understanding of the current needs of the education system. This study analysed data on attitudes from a total of 175 teachers (29.10% male) working in state schools (50.30%) and semi-private schools in different autonomous communities of the Spanish state. An adapted version of the teacher questionnaire on attitudes towards students with special educational needs arising from disability was used. After analysing the psychometric properties of the questionnaire, further purification of these properties resulted in an assessment instrument comprising 22 items. It is worth highlighting the appraisal that teachers carry out of their training, the existence of resources, as well as their own level of involvement.     

Fostering positive attitudes: reactions of mainstream pupils to contact with their counterparts who have severe/profound intellectual disabilities

This paper is concerned with the impact of an Irish schools link programme on the attitudes of able-bodied young people towards their severely/profoundly intellectually disabled peers. Eradicating the misconceptions and stereotypes often associated with severely/profoundly intellectually disabled young people can be particularly difficult in an Irish context as these young people attend Developmental Day Centres under the auspices of the Department of Health rather than a regular school. Within the remit of this paper, it is proposed to focus on the effects of structured contact on the attitudes of mainstream pupils towards their counterparts who have severe/profound intellectual disabilities. Findings would suggest that involvement in the link programme had enabled the mainstream pupils to develop and retain over a two-year period positive pro-social attitudes towards their severely/profoundly intellectually disabled peers.     

Integrating Northern Ireland: Cross‐group friendships in integrated and mixed schools

While Northern Ireland strives to build a shared society, the current reality is that everyday experiences are still shaped by division along ethno‐religious lines. This is particularly pronounced in the education system, where more than 92% of pupils attend separate schools. Within the predominantly separate education system, however, exists a small collection of schools which cater to a more heterogeneous pupil body and offer the opportunity for young people from both communities to meet and interact, and potentially develop cross‐group friendships. The present study compares the network‐based cross‐group friendships within two such school types; an integrated and a separate post‐primary school. These schools boast a distinct ethos yet they similarly enrol students from Catholic and Protestant backgrounds. Findings reveal that both schools show a high level of interconnection between pupils; however, the integrated school, with an ethos that openly supports social cohesion, shows a greater tendency towards cross‐group interactions and best friendships than those found within the separate school. In line with contact theory, these findings suggest that it may not be enough to simply create opportunities for intergroup contact but that optimal conditions, such as institutional support, may be a prerequisite for positive relationships to flourish. Implications for educational policies designed to promote greater cross‐community contact are discussed.