ATTITUDES OF STUDENTS IN EXCEPTIONAL PROGRAMS (original) (raw)
Related papers
TEACHERS' CONCERNS ABOUT INCLUSIVE EDUCATION
This paper is an attempt to find the difference between the concerns of Govt. aided and Self financed college teachers toward the inclusion of students with disabilities into general education classrooms. Participants included 80 college teachers. The CIES, Concerns about Inclusive Education Scale (Sharma & Desai, 2002), were utilized to determine participants' level of concern about the inclusion of students with disabilities into mainstream settings.
An Examination of Educators' Attitudes Toward Inclusion
Educators responded to the Principals and Inclusion Survey, measuring the experiences, training, attitudes of educators toward inclusion, and beliefs about the most appropriate placement of students with disabilities. Results revealed that the educators held a positive view of the inclusion model. However, the educators did not believe that general education should be modified to meet the needs of all students. The educators indicated that they believed that most of their students with disabilities could be served appropriately from regular classroom instruction and the resource room. The more positive the educators' inclusive attitude was, the less restrictive the learning environment was seen as most appropriate for specific learning disabilities, EBD, speech/language impairment, and autism/pervasive development disorder. Significant correlations were found between their attitude toward inclusion and the number of special education training courses taken, formal field-based training, and number of years of full-time special education teaching experience. A multitude of educational research studies have been guided by the theory of planned behavior framework, which proposes that behavior stems from attitudes (Ajzen, 2011). In the context of inclusive programs, the theory would suggest that the successful implementation of inclusive practices would be dependent upon educators' inherent belief that inclusion is a worthwhile endeavor. For administrators, this means that their dispositions toward inclusion may affect their inclusive policies and resource allocation. In the case of general education teachers, their perceptions regarding their role and responsibilities for their students with disabilities may affect both the quality and quantity of their interactions with them. Research findings have long correlated teachers' beliefs with their classroom behaviors (Babad, Inbar & Rosenthal, 1982; Good & Brophy, 1972) and teachers' expectations with student achievement (Conn, Edwards & Rosenthal, 1968). This paper will examine current research findings of educators' attitude toward inclusion. Teachers' Views on Inclusion While a great deal of research over the past decade has concentrated on principals' attitudes toward inclusion, very few studies have been conducted on teachers' perspectives. Principals' perspectives are important to evaluate, however, the examination of teachers' perspectives is also critical. After all, it is the general education teacher who interacts with inclusive students on a daily basis. Their subconsciously held dispositions may inadvertently guide the number of and quality of instructional accommodations and interactions provided for their students, in addition to the expectations placed upon them. Just before full inclusion was implemented in a large Southeastern U.S. school district, a study of teachers' dispositions toward inclusion found that while the majority of teachers were willing to make accommodations for their students with special needs, their overall belief in those students to master the general course curriculum was deficient (Santoli, Sachs, Romey & McClurg, 2008). In other words, the teachers in the study were willing to go through the required motions of inclusive practice, but had already set the bar low for their inclusive students' achievement. Their low expectations could have serious implications for the success of their inclusive students. Several studies have indicated that the way teachers regard their individual students consistently falls within one of the following categories: attachment, concern, indifference, or rejection (Cook, Tankersley, Cook & Landrum, 2000; Good & Brophy, 1972). Attachment students are typically high-achievers, behave appropriately, and demand little of their teacher's time, whereas concern students tend to be low-achieving but are recipients of a great deal of attention by the teacher. While attachment students are preferential, teachers generally don't call on or interact with them more often; they are seen as conforming and are often held up as models to classmates. Conversely, teachers tend to initiate contact frequently and give praise to their concern students. Students regarded with indifference generally avoid teacher attention and receive the same in return and, in that same vein, rejection students are those for whom the teacher has given up hope of success. Students
Teachers' and administrators' attitudes towards inclusion
2015
This study examined attitudes of general education teachers, special education teachers, and building administrators relative to inclusive practices. Using survey methodology, the level of agreement or disagreement of teachers' and administrators' attitudes towards inclusive practices was measured in four areas: Planning, Classroom/School Environment, Collaboration/Team Partners, and Resources/Supports/Professional Development. A purposeful sampling of participants, including 47 teachers and principals representing 30 elementary schools from a large urban school district in southern Maryland, voluntarily completed an Inclusive Practices Survey. The survey measured teacher and administrator attitudes using a 22-item, fivepoint Likert scale. The quantitative questions were augmented by five qualitative questions that were an extension of select quantitative items. The data was analyzed using t-test, frequency distribution, chi-square cross tabulation bivariate statistical test, and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). Analyses revealed a significant difference between special educators and building administrators in reference to Collaboration/Team Partners. Overall, a majority of the responses for both teachers and administrators were in the strongly agree and agree somewhat categories. Comparison of the results for each of the groups separately exposed that building administrators chose the highest rating of strongly agree more frequently than did the total group. General education teachers selected strongly disagree at double the rate of special education teachers and triple the rate of administrators. Results support other researchers' findings, which indicate that principals' attitudes toward inclusion were encouraging and have an influential impact on school-wide policy and practices. Implications surfaced from the findings to signify students with and without disabilities working together collaboratively, general education teachers and special education teachers sharing the responsibility for behavior management and administration, and by providing ongoing support to teachers, school teams can provide the foundation for strong inclusive practices, which may positively impact the levels of academic achievement, enhance students' social skills, and improve school culture and acceptance of all.
Perceptions of Secondary Education Teachers Working in an Inclusive Setting
2015
This dissertation in practice addresses the continuous underperformance of students with disabilities (SWD) on standardized assessments when compared to their non-disabled peers. This dissertation on the complex problem of practice investigates secondary education teachers' perceptions of students with disabilities and their ability to be included in the general education classroom. The purpose of this research is to develop a professional development framework to enhance inclusive practices. Students with disabilities nationwide are increasingly taught in the general education classroom in order to provide them access to their least restrictive environment and instruction of the general education curriculum. The beliefs held by teachers about students with disabilities and their inclusion in the general education classroom is one key variable to the successful inclusion as measured by student outcomes. To provide necessary support, it is imperative to understand teachers' attitude towards students with disabilities and their inclusion in the general education classroom. Based on the survey results and relevant research, the professional development framework to enhance inclusive practices was developed and will focus on three elements: (a) school culture and understanding of inclusion, (b) effective inclusive teaching strategies, and (c) collaboration models and techniques. The goal of the professional development framework is for administrators and other school leaders to provide appropriate learning opportunities for teachers to enhance their understanding of inclusion and to provide them strategies and techniques to improve student outcomes in an effort to close the achievement gap between students with and without disabilities.
Teachers’ attitudes towards inclusive education
Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 2012
This study was designed to identify the major obstacles in implementing inclusive principles in mainstream schools and to analyze different aspects of the teachers' attitude towards inclusive education. A total of 112 teachers completed a questionnaire which contained 8 categories of items regarding knowledge of specific terminology, practice of inclusive education and prejudices towards children with special needs. The study revealed significant differences between teachers of different ages regarding the knowledge of main concepts of inclusion. There are also major confusions regarding the difference between inclusive education and integrated education.
2011
This paper reports the final development of a scale to measure pre-service teachers' perceptions in three constructs of inclusive education, namely, sentiments or comfort levels when engaging with people with disabilities; acceptance of learners with different needs; and concerns about implementing inclusion. The Sentiments, Attitudes, and Concerns about Inclusive Education Revised (SACIE-R) scale was developed from an initial 60 items and administered through a series of refined surveys. A final 15-item scale was validated using 542 pre-service teachers from nine institutions in four countries including Hong Kong, Canada, India, and the United States. It is posited that the SACIE-R scale will yield valuable information for assisting universities and colleges in preparing more specific training to address the needs of pre-service teachers for working with diverse student populations.
Teachers' Attitudes toward Inclusion
2004
TT he purpose of this study was to (a) investigate current teachers' attitudes toward inclusion, and to (b) explore possible difference in the general and special education teachers' attitudes toward inclusion of students with disabilities in the integrated education classroom. A total of 10 participants from a large mid-western state university participated in this study. All ten participants were in-service teachers enrolled in graduate classes. The findings of this study indicated that teachers had positive attitudes toward inclusion of students with disabilities in general education classroom. Some differences, however, were found between the attitudes of special and regular education teachers. Special educators were more supportive to full inclusion than the general educators. The integration of information concerning teachers' beliefs/points of view about inclusion may help practitioners to design educational settings that enhance all students' academic performance.
Teacher’s attitude towards inclusive education: A literature review
2021
Teachers are the key persons to implement the inclusive education in our society. In various studies researchers have argued how positive attitudes of teacher influence the concept of inclusion and inclusive education. This study is conducted to investigate teacher's attitude towards inclusive education, variables related to their attitude and if social participation of students with special needs in mainstream schools get influenced by these variables. A review of 31 literature that involve 2213 teacher's, revealed that the majority of teachers hold positive attitude towards inclusive education. Although their attitude towards the inclusive education is positive in terms of disability type (e.g. orthopaedically impaired, visually impaired, hearing impaired, gifted or creative and deprived children.). Some studies also reported negative or neutral attitude towards inclusion. No studies reported clear or complete positive attitude in their findings. Different definitions of t...