Teacher's attitudes towards inclusion in primary schools

Introduction Every student, be it a child or an adult, has a right to go to school, study, and obtain the education. Various international declarations emphasize on the importance and the necessity of the quality education where the main objective is to ensure all individuals in need of knowledge including all children receive it in quality terms. “All” in this case includes the ones with special needs. Education is an essential human right, and the concept of ‘Education for All’ can only be realized after enabling all people including the ones with disabilities to access the basic quality schooling. Besides, by providing equal opportunities for education, it would empower every person to attain the personal full potential and contribute meaningfully to the society. Besides, education allows people to be dependent not on others but on themselves since it prepares them to become self-reliant. However, the issue is that this right has hardly been achieved, especially in the African countries where the concept of ‘Education for All’ seems to be on the decline. Education is the right of everyone, and the relevant concept can only be realized and achieved if even the people with disabilities are allowed to access the basic quality training. Furthermore, such a practice is more than beneficial to the human capital development since it prepares all individuals to survive in the general world. Therefore, in spite of the necessity to permit education for all, the primary school teachers have a perception that is self-efficient and affects their understanding of inclusion. The general educators with the significant experience have a more positive attitude towards the inclusive education than those with less practice. This paper examines the inclusion, the participation of the pupils with exceptionalities, the necessary aspects of the successful inclusive education, and the factors that influence the implementation of such classrooms. Inclusive Education Inclusive education is the custom of allowing all students to learn in the same environment in spite of the disabilities some may have. Everybody enjoys the basic human right of an equal chance to obtain knowledge through the inclusive education. Besides, it has enabled the primary general educators to teach students of all levels including the ones with physical as well as learning impairment. These teachers have some personal concerns regarding the inclusive education such as the inadequacy they experience when it comes to teaching and testing the pupils with disabilities. The constructs of the inclusive education enable the regular tutors to centre not only on the academic aspects of the child with special needs but also on the social and cultural dynamics in the regular classroom. Thus, the regular education teachers are forced to realign their instructional practices to be conventional at the level of a learner with the disability academically, culturally, and socially to create positive learner outcomes. This philosophy is beneficial for primary general educators since it helps them build support to ensure successful inclusion. Being mainstream in the academic classes was downgraded to the level of the disabled learners who had the ability to function in the regular classroom without excessive accommodations from the teacher. Previously, most of such students were taught and tested in a resource classroom that is separate from the regular one and were able to meet the common pupils during assemblies and breaks. The less confident primary school teachers doubt their ability to effectively deal with the special pupils in the regular classroom and wonder why they have to adjust the lessons simply to meet the needs of such students. These feelings of insufficient confidence in the system of inclusion bore the need for research to address the attitudes of teachers and how such feelings affect the teachers’ abilities to conduct schooling in such a setting. Forms of Inclusive Education The inclusive education is enforced to ensure that every child enjoys the right to participate in a school, and it is the duty of the latter to accept a child without separating him or her from the classrooms. According to Srivastava, de Boer and Pijl, such education is divided into the full inclusion or the regular inclusion. In the first case, learners with the special needs are taught in the regular classroom but, whenever possible, they are taken to be given special instructions in other settings. For instance, a pupil with a disability can occasionally leave the regular educational surrounding to attend other instructional sessions in another room or other related services like the language or speech therapy among others. The full inclusion, on the other hand, is about the complete integration of such a child into the setting of a regular classroom. It implies that all learners are given the same services at the same time in the same place. This form of inclusion is common for the pupils whose needs can be easily met such as more time to complete assignments. Need for Inclusion The inclusive education helps to address the needs of all students within the mainstream schools through the available resources for creating learning opportunities. According to Croft, millions of children worldwide are deprived of education while almost a third of them are disabled. Inclusion is a controversial subject that currently is not yet applied or well-understood. It is vital for school systems to adapt to be able to include teaching and testing strategies wide enough to cover a diverse range of pupils. Besides, it promotes inclusion for both the regular children and those with the special needs, putting them as one unit in mainstream classes where they are instructed and taught by the same teachers. The inclusive education gives all children a fair chance to access education; hence, there is the need to modify the school environments to meet the diversities of the learners. Moreover, inclusion allows the learners with the special needs to fit into the program since their teachers give them individual support to help them complete school tasks. It means that teachers need to be positive towards inclusion to adequately handle the special needs of learners. Furthermore, an individual’s academic success depends on what a person, being with or without disabilities, has learned from the educators. The educator plays a significant role in the learner’s educational process. Consequently, teachers are expected to modify the learning environment and accommodate the special needs of every learner in the inclusive setting. The classroom environment is the best place for a child to build social skills and develop progressively. Participating in a school combines all pupils and implements therapeutic interventions for the children with the special needs as well as focuses on their ordinary daily activities. It is vital for the models of practice to consider this when supporting the inclusion of children with impairments in the regular school programs. Additionally, the pupils with exceptionalities should no longer be physically removed from the classroom to be given the therapy; on the contrary, educators are encouraged to work with them without separation of the group. Moreover, inclusion can only be successful if the tutors become familiar with the course of action and the challenges associated with it. Chataika, et al. argue that for the success of the inclusive education, it is paramount to develop and upgrade the practical skills, the value system, and the knowledge of teachers. It is of the utmost importance regarding the issue of inclusion since primary school teachers do not have the specialization to teach children with disabilities. Additionally, the training curriculum of educators does not include the topics that cover the individuality. Thus, it is necessary for the teachers to learn new teaching techniques and interact with other specialized professionals in order to receive the adequate support that will empower them to work with pupils with special needs. It is also crucial for the child to be adequately prepared as well to join the regular school system and transition into the environment. According to Van der Veen, Smeets, and Derriks, inclusion will have a better outcome if the preparation phase for a child with special needs is focused on promoting the skills such as the ones that involve listening, obeying classroom rules, and following instructions. Before joining the common educational institution, a child should also concentrate on developing communication abilities, personal care activities, and social interactions. Attitudes towards Inclusion Factors influencing Teachers’ Attitudes towards Inclusion in Primary Schools Every child is entitled to equal educational opportunities in spite of their kind of the disability or type of the disadvantage. The teachers’ attitudes, as well as expectations, act as major barriers to the success in the implementation of inclusive classrooms. The approach of educators to the students with the special needs is a decisive element in the successful inclusion in schools. These attitudes are commonly formed from practical concerns, especially regarding the implementation of the inclusive education. The factors that have an impact on it include teacher-related, child-related factors, and environmental factors. In other studies, the authors found that science, English, and mathematics teachers had less favourable attitudes towards the inclusive education than those who hold lessons of other subjects. Moreover, the attitudes of the science teachers were the worst in this case, and the children with the special needs tend to receive the lower marks on this subject. The type and the level of disability also contribute to shaping teachers’ attitudes towards inclusion. Learners with emotional and behavioural problems are the least likely to be supported for such education, and the future teachers are also likely to have the negative perception of the inclusion of pupils that can be physically aggressive towards others. Additionally, female teachers are also found to be more accepting when it comes to the inclusive education than their male colleagues, even though they have more anxiety experiences regarding the issue. Still, female teachers are the ones more open to the notion of such training when compared to the male teachers. The most common concern of primary school teachers is how they would be able to accommodate the individualized demands of the special students without abandoning other students present in the classroom. They are also apprehensive not only of the quantity but also of the quality of knowledge they will be able to give children. Additionally, the primary school educators are concerned with the issue of inclusion since there are no adequate support services, and the training is also limited, which results in the lack of ability to deal with the inclusive education. Teachers who have been in the profession for long have been found to have a more inclusive attitude since they have experience with handling all individuals including the students with the special needs. Veck argues that secondary school teachers have more practice in teaching than their primary school colleagues and can adapt quickly to the special needs of different learners and the psychological strain that is related with such a work. The younger educators, especially those aged between 20 and 30, have a higher level of agreement regarding the provision of support in schools. Age is an important factor when it comes to attitudes towards inclusion. According to Rieser, teachers have good theoretical knowledge at the beginning of their teaching career. Younger primary school educators are more efficient, which makes them more likely to foster the implementation of this specific education. In fact, they are in a position to go for the additional training, becoming more positively inclined to accept and promote the inclusion in primary schools. It indicates that the younger as well as the less experienced teachers are the ones more able and willing to implement the process of inclusion while the older tutors and those with more practice are not willing but rather concerned about the implementation. For this reason, the younger educators and those with less experience are more ready to incorporate inclusion and can have more positive perceptions towards it. Additionally, the teachers who work with classes that have few or no students with the special needs seem to support such education in schools than their other colleagues. Moreover, teachers with the training to work with all students including those with disabilities have a high level of agreement when it comes to inclusion. The primary school educators’ attitudes can be determined by various factors. The type of school, the age of the teacher, the number of students with the impairment in a class, and the acquired skills during the training are only some of such aspects. It can develop, add to, or hold back conducting the inclusion. According to Miles and Singal, teachers who are personally in support of inclusive practices and accept this concept readily adapt to the students’ diverse needs and incorporate various approaches and strategies for teaching to ensure they satisfy the needs of all learners. Hence, their general attitudes can be impacted by their age, gender, professional training, education, and experience including also the level and the type of disability of children. The support the educators obtain from all the people involved such as the parents and the school administration also affects their perception of the inclusion at schools. The method of its implementation used at educational facilities will influence the attitudes of the teachers. If the school administration does not offer the necessary support through the distribution of resources as well as the encouragement to foster quality services, especially through proper pay, the responsible teachers will have a negative opinion on the inclusion. It is also vital for the teachers to be given support not only by the school administration but also their colleagues and the entire organization framework for them to enjoy what they do, which eventually facilitates a positive attitude towards inclusion. Additionally, the connection between environmental aspects and stress has an impact on the teachers’ understanding of the inclusion in schools. The school environment can contribute highly to the teachers’ perceptions of inclusion since it determines a teacher’s reaction through the workload, the pace and the scope of change, and the time devoted to the teaching tasks. Most educators suffer from excessive workloads, especially due to the overcrowded curriculum. Its requirements have been enhanced, especially concerning the high educational needs, political and employer’ pressures, and the community’s wants. The number of subjects in the curriculum increases, but there is no suggestion on how the teachers will be able to handle the intensified pressures. It is true that “change is good”, but when it begins to affect the quality of a teacher’s services, it becomes more a concern. Besides, many educators believe that the curriculum changes are usually ill-considered since they are often introduced without adequately consulting with the teachers on how to implement them properly. In the same case, most educational professionals are often insufficiently prepared, especially when it comes to inclusion due to the lack of adequate support, which eventually undermines teachers’ self-confidence causing stress and averting the successful engagement as well as the challenges caused by inclusion. The special needs of a child are also among the major contributors to the teachers’ attitudes to inclusion. Croft argues that educators are, for the most part, against the inclusion of pupils with behavioural, emotional, and social disorders and are generally more supportive in implementing the inclusion of those with sensory and physical disabilities as well as the ones with special learning problems. Besides, what contributes largely to the perceptions of teachers is their understanding of and expectations from students with. The social representations of the teachers affect the ability of the learners to interact and accommodate. Besides, the teachers’ social representation of students is created by the previous experiences with people with disabilities. It may concern the private contact or be from previous work-related cases; however, whichever the cases are, they all shape the teachers’ social representation of such students. Moreover, educators without these experiences have more social elements that relate to the student’s behaviours whereas those with awareness from previous practices have the features related to the learning factors and the environment. These findings bring to light the role the contextual factors play when it comes to the formation of teachers’ attitudes towards inclusion. Other teaching staffs who are distant from the students exhibit more positive perception of the inclusion than the ones closer to the classroom. According to Ismail, Basheer, and Khan, the head teachers, administrators, and advisors have the most positive mindset towards inclusion while the classroom teachers hold the most negative opinion. At the same time, the special education educators are more accepting of the pupils with physical and intellectual disabilities than those from the mainstream primary schools. It indicates that the level of response of special education teachers is much higher compared to that of regular ones. Manipulation of Education on the Attitudes of Teachers towards Inclusion Despite the need to adjust the school programs to meet the needs of all children and despite the necessity to include subjects related to the inclusive education system, the educational programs do not seem to change. According to Norwich, the existing education systems can limit the inclusion process since they are not able to be developed to cover the various exceptionalities. The training of teachers is imperative to changing the attitudes of teachers towards the matter of inclusion in primary schools. It prepares educators for the special educational process by giving them a more professional touch and expertise, which enables them to be better prepared to work with all children including those with special needs. Florian and Linklater argue that the training of teachers boosts their self-confidence as well as empowers them to develop more optimistic attitudes towards the inclusive practice. Besides, positive perception of the inclusion, especially on the side of the primary school teachers, is more closely related to the thorough, well-planned, and long-term training. Additionally, a course on inclusion can significantly decrease anxiety among teachers and leave them more in favour of it. Hence, education and training on inclusion are considered fundamental and necessary for the improvement of the inclusive process. Teacher Relationships with other Professionals that Influence Inclusion Collaboration between professionals is important for the successful inclusion in primary schools. A teacher should establish collaboration with other professionals to successfully include a special needs child into the regular school programs. Glazzard argues that cooperation contributes to the successful inclusion since all the collaborating parties strive towards a common goal that, in this case, is the all-inclusive education. Besides, good collaboration practices ensure the involved individuals share decision making, resources, and accountability and, as the process takes place, the members would learn and grow as well as develop new approaches to help them solve the different issues together. Conclusion The perception of inclusion in primary schools among teachers is sufficiently influenced by many factors. The type of school is a factor since primary schools are found to be less supportive of inclusion than secondary ones. The younger teachers are also willing and ready to accept inclusion in primary educational institutions. The number of children with disabilities as well as the acquired skills of the teacher was also found to affect the educators’ attitude toward inclusion. To provide adequate support for all pupils, schools must ensure they carefully plan for the right number of students in a classroom to promote the effective teaching. The teacher’s skills with regard to the work with learners with the special needs are among the most important aspects that affect the successful performance of inclusion. It confirms that teachers play a vital role in the implementation of inclusion in primary schools since positive attitudes from them towards the process and good professional qualifications would help establish the efficacy of the practice and the success of the students with exceptionalities. It is, therefore, necessary to offer the teaching staff the intensive, systematic, and continuous development. Additionally, the educators should be encouraged through study groups and workshops where they can reflect and discuss their work. Besides, they need the support of special professionals and experts to succeed in meeting the varied needs of learners in an inclusive classroom.

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