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The English Language Teachers’ Perception Of Inclusive Education
[A CASE STUDY OF THE UNIVERSAL BASIC EDUCATION IN KWARA STATE]
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Prior to the inclusive school movement which advocated for students with disabilities to be educated in typical classroom settings, there seemed to have been an unwritten agreement between teachers and administrators in regular and special education. Essentially, special educators agreed to take from regular educators those students who were academically and/or behaviorally challenged; in exchange, regular schools’ would support special educators and their requirements for additional resources, with the understanding that under no circumstances would special educators bring students with disabilities back into the regular classroom. It appears this agreement now has been ruptured by the new philosophy of the inclusive school movement, and neither the special educators nor the general educators are likely to be very comfortable with the new situation.
2.6 Empirical Review
Research has indicated that teachers’ positive attitudes have a direct link with the success of inclusion (Kuyini & Desai, 2007; Sze, 2009). Several researchers have focused on teachers’ attitudes related to inclusion (Chhabra, Srivastava, & Srivastava, 2010; Cook, 2004; Cook & Cameron, 2010; Cook, Cameron, & Tankersley, 2007; Grace, 2006; Heiman, 2001; Ross-Hill, 2009; Ryan, 2009). In an Indian study, Sharma, Moore and Sonawane (2009) investigated attitudes and concerns of 480 pre-service teachers enrolled in a Bachelor of Education programme. The findings suggested that students’ attitudes towards inclusion are somewhat negative and that this negative tendency was related to the attitudes and beliefs of the teacher educators within the programme. The study of Kuyini and Desai (2007) in Ghana showed that attitudes towards inclusion and knowledge of inclusion are directly linked with effective teaching practices in an inclusive setting. Mortier et al. (2010) identified five teachers†perspectives that appeared to support the development of educational opportunities for children with disabilities and promote effective inclusion practice in regular classrooms. These included: (a) an open attitude, (b) a safe group environment. (c) Equal input into the construction of ideas. Id committed to success. And (c) a positive atmosphere. To ensure classroom teachers have positive and supportive attitudes towards children with disabilities, there is a need to understand the attitudes of teacher educators who are responsible for the provision of pre-service training for classroom teachers.
Alli, Mustpha and Jela (nd) examined teachers’ attitudes and their perceived knowledge towards inclusive education in Malaysia. The respondents (n=235) were the mainstream and special education teachers in the public primary and secondary schools. They were given a set of questionnaire which sought their responses regarding their attitudes and knowledge towards inclusive education. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics such as frequency and percentages. The main finding shows that, in general, teachers have positive attitudes towards inclusive education. They agreed that inclusive education enhances social interaction and inclusion among the students and thus, it minimizes negative stereotypes on special needs students. The findings also show that collaboration between the mainstream and the special education teachers is important and that there should be a clear guideline on the implementation of inclusive education. The findings of the study have significant implications to the school administrators, teachers, and other stakeholders who directly and indirectly involved in implementing inclusive education.
Ghani and Ahmad (2012) measured teachers’ perception towards the implementation of inclusive education in Penang, Malaysia. This study involved 133 mainstream teachers and 37 special education teachers from Penang. Research instrument for this study was adapted from the instrument Contexts, Input, Process and Product, which was introduced by Stufflebeam in 1971. This study involved a questionnaire that contains two sections. Section a contained teachers’ demography and Section B contained the factors that contribute to the teachers’ perception towards the implementation of inclusive education. Data collected on the study was analyzed using frequencies, percentages, and independent t-test and One-Way ANOVA statistical methods.
The results showed that 32.3 5% of the respondents have positive perception and 50.59% have moderate perception towards the implementation of inclusive education. On the other hand, this study also revealed that 17.06% of the respondents have negative perception towards the implementation of inclusive education. The findings of this study also highlighted that different types of teachers and their academic qualification do influence or create the difference in term of their perception towards the implementation of inclusive education.
Nisreen (2012) explores teachers’ attitudes toward the inclusion of children with disabilities in the UAE mainstream schools. It also provides a basic background about the present types of programs and services offered within the UAE schools with respect to individuals with special needs. The main findings of this study which targeted 56 teachers who are involved in teaching students with disabilities in UAE private and public inclusive schools indicated that the participating teachers agreed in principle with the goals of inclusion, however, they were generally unsatisfied about the current practices of inclusion in their schools. These teachers reported that their schools have insufficient allowance for special equipment, resources and services: a limited number of certified special education personnel; a lack of proper training for teachers in mainstream classrooms, and a lack of clear guiding policies available in schools to deal with inclusion issues, even the senior-level administrators are not sufficiently knowledgeable with inclusion practices. Further, these teachers expressed common concerns such as teachers’ time taken away from the rest of the students, class size, and safety of children with special needs. Such teachers’ concerns might be justified as inclusion is relatively a new educational philosophy practiced in the country.
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ABSRACT - [ Total Page(s): 1 ]ABSTRACT IS COMING SOON ... Continue reading---
QUESTIONNAIRE - [ Total Page(s): 1 ]QUESTIONNAIRE ON ATTITUDE OF TEACHERS ON INCLUSIVEEDUCATIONInstructionsThe purpose of this questionnaire is to obtain information relating to what you think about inclusive education of students with disabilities. All information in this questionnaire is provided anonymously and will be treated then analyzed under the framework of this research only. This is not a test. Thus, there is no right or wrong answer. All you have to do is to tick the option as applicable to you.SECTION A: GENERAL INFOR ... Continue reading---
CHAPTER ONE - [ Total Page(s): 3 ]In order for inclusion to work in practice, teachers in regular schools in Nigeria must accept its philosophies and demands. According to Salend and Duhaney (1999), educators have varying attitudes towards inclusion, their responses being shaped by a range of variables such as their success in implementing inclusion, student characteristics, training and levels of support. Some studies reported positive outcomes for general teachers, including increased skills in meeting the needs of all their s ... Continue reading---
CHAPTER THREE - [ Total Page(s): 1 ]CHAPTER THREERESEARCH METHODOLOGY3.0 This chapter presents the research method that would be used to carry out the study which is on the perception of the English language teachers of Inclusive education in the Universal Basic Education in Kwara State. The discussion on the methods will include:a. Research typeb. Population, sample and sampling techniqueC. Instrumentationd. Procedure for data collection ande. Data analysis technique f. Research type3.1 Research TypeThis research would use ... Continue reading---
REFRENCES - [ Total Page(s): 3 ]REFERENCES Ajuwon, P. M. (2008). Inclusive education for students with disabilities in Nigeria: Benefits and challenges and policy implications. International Journal of Special Education, 23(3), 11-16.Ali, M.M., Mustapha, R. and Jelas, Z. M. (2006). An empirical study on teachers’ perceptions towards inclusive education in Malaysia. International Journal of special Education, Vol. 21 (3).Allan, J. (1995) How are we doing? Teacher's views on the effectiveness of co-operative teaching. Sup ... Continue reading---
