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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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Fakolade, Adeniyi and Tella (2009) defines attitude as a state of readiness to react in a certain manner when confronted with certain stimuli and it is present but dormant most of the time and they become expressed in speech or other behavior only when the object of attitude is perceived. He further maintains that attitudes are reinforced by beliefs which form part of cognitive component and often attract strong feelings which is an emotional component and that leads to a particular form of action which is a behavior or action tendency component. Thurston (Sommer & Sommmer, 1986, p. 13 1) also sees people’s attitudes on a topic as representing the sum total of their beliefs, feelings, knowledge and opinions. Baron and Byrne (2004, p. 126) maintain that attitudes are a mental framework that helps to interpret and process information. They further contend that attitudes permit the self-expression, serve a self-esteem function that helps to enhance feeling of self-worth and serve an impression motivation function.
Downing (2002, p. 10) argues that the greatest barrier to the successful inclusion of children with severe and multiple impairments in typical learning environment is the fear of what might have to happen since few students with these disabilities have been included in general education classes and information pertaining to their successful learning and required support to promote this success are not available or not known by most teachers. She further maintains that the first step before educating together all students is the change of attitude from the perception of learners who do not belong to the perception of learners who need support and a shift from deficit orientation to an ability orientation with acknowledgement that additional support may be necessary and is acceptable. She is convinced that, it is the way to enhance the movement towards inclusive education. Downing also maintains that inclusive education builds on the principle of interdependence among students and the realization that students will excel in some skill areas but not others. The principle of give and take in the heterogeneity of students is necessary for them to learn from one another. She maintains, however, that not knowing what is possible and how support can be used to promote all students’ learning can create unwillingness to change. She further contends that a change in attitude is the basic step that should occur before educating students together can successfully take place. In order to achieve this, Downing (2000, p. 11) believes that additional training is one of the key priorities required for inclusive education. The attitude of the teacher, according to her, remains the pivotal centre upon which inclusive education revolves.
Teachers’ attitudes according to Schulz et al and Wiczenski (D’Alonzo et al., 1996, pp. 309-3 10) do not only set the tone for the relationship between teachers and students with disabilities but they influence even the attitude of non-disabled students. It is also maintained that the success of the inclusion movement will depend upon the attitudes of pre-service and in- service teachers towards inclusion and the academic preparation they receive in teaching students with disabilities. Hargreaves (Carrington, 1999, p. 264), on the same token, contends that the teacher is the ultimate key to the education change and school improvement for the very fact that he develops; defines; interprets and delivers the curriculum, and it is what a teacher believes and what he does at the level of the classroom that actually determines what students get. Guskey (Carrington, 1999, p. 264), on the other hand, is concerned about the fact that staff development programmes have been found not to be most successful in bringing about attitude and belief change, hence if teachers could be supported and guided in trying new strategies and see positive outcomes, then a tremendous attitude change can be seen. Carrington (1999, p. 264) advises that professional development programmes of teachers should take into consideration conditions that will affect the success or failure of any new approach so that barriers to implementation of new strategies and ideals can be overcome. She also maintains that traditional approaches to staff development may fail to produce any change in teachers’ attitude; approach to curriculum; class organization and ideas about teaching and learning that will be required for inclusive schooling and, to overcome this problem, she suggests that teachers may need to see other successful teachers working in inclusive settings, adapting curriculum for all learners and organizing classes to meet the needs of diverse students.
One important issue that needs to be extrapolated from the above expositions is that inclusion has to do with what is actually going on behind the doors in the classroom, legislations and policies only provide a framework for implementation. For teachers to successfully implement inclusive education they need to have expertise to teach all learners and passion for learners with special educational needs. On top of it all they must buy into the idea of including these learners as well as be prepared to change their teaching strategies, if there is a need, in order to enhance success. Unless teachers’ attitudes are positive towards inclusion, learners with special educational needs will remain in regular classrooms without accessing the curriculum. Painting (1983, p. 95) states that teachers may develop resentful and rejecting attitude towards disabled child and they may feel frustrated because their schedule is disrupted by the child and become helpless because they do not know how to deal with the children’s behavior. On the same point, Siegel and Gold (1982, p. 61) assert that productive intervention will not occur as long as teachers still view the learning disabled child’s characteristic behavior as completely negative and detrimental to both the child’s effort to learn and to the teacher’s effort to mediate.
Teachers are one of the most important pillars in the education system, therefore it is vital to explore teachers’ attitudes toward educational philosophies. According Leatherman and Niemeyer (2007), “teachers form attitudes toward children with disabilities, and ultimately toward inclusion, based on a child’s characteristics, the factors in the classroom, and their previous experiences†(p. 24). Consequently, the teacher’s attitudes are reflected in their behavior in the classroom and in their interactions with the children. Therefore, the teacher’s attitude is an important element in the success of the inclusive classroom. El-Ashry (2009) analyzed several studies that classified teachers’ perspectives toward inclusion, and then he classified their attitudes into three categories; positive, negative, and neutral: Some researchers have found that general education teachers were not in favor of inclusion (Coates, 1989; Gersten, Walker, & Darch, 1988; Larrivee & Cook, 1979; Semmel, Abernathy, Butera, & Lesar, 1991).
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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---
