Elementary School Teachers’ Attitude Towards Inclusive Education in Kerala
ELEMENTARY SCHOOL TEACHERS’ ATTITUDE TOWARDS INCLUSIVE EDUCATION IN KERALA
Dr. Santhosh Kumar Vallikkat
Principal
Farook B.Ed College ,Kottakkal
Malappuram, Kerala
Abstract
Attitudes about inclusion are extremely complex and vary from teacher to teacher and school to school. This article explores the attitudes of elementary teachers about inclusion of special needs children in general education. This study adopted a descriptive survey research design, with 600 teachers as participants from selected elementary schools in Kerala. Four hypotheses were postulated at the significant level of .05. The instrument, a questionnaire with question items on demographic information like gender, marital status, professionalism and teaching experience has a general reliability coefficient alpha of .83. A t-test method of analysis was the main statistical method used to test the 4 generated hypotheses. The findings revealed that the attitude of male teachers is 39.4, while that of female teacher is 43.3, thus, the t-test analysis shows that the calculated t-test is 2.107, which is greater than the critical t (t=1.960). This implies that female teachers have more positive attitude towards the inclusion of special needs students than their male counterparts. Furthermore, the results reveal that significant difference exists between married and single teachers in their attitude towards special need students. And that professionally qualified teacher tends to have a more favourable attitude towards the inclusion of special need students than their untrained qualified teachers. It was recommended that teachers should attend seminars and conferences to improve their knowledge about ways of practicing and accepting inclusion for a better tomorrow for our special needs children in Kerala.
INTRODUCTION
A successful system of inclusion requires that the community believe in the competence of the education system to meet the needs of all students. Parents especially
Dr. Santhosh Kumar Vallikkat
Principal
Farook B.Ed College ,Kottakkal
Malappuram, Kerala
Abstract
Attitudes about inclusion are extremely complex and vary from teacher to teacher and school to school. This article explores the attitudes of elementary teachers about inclusion of special needs children in general education. This study adopted a descriptive survey research design, with 600 teachers as participants from selected elementary schools in Kerala. Four hypotheses were postulated at the significant level of .05. The instrument, a questionnaire with question items on demographic information like gender, marital status, professionalism and teaching experience has a general reliability coefficient alpha of .83. A t-test method of analysis was the main statistical method used to test the 4 generated hypotheses. The findings revealed that the attitude of male teachers is 39.4, while that of female teacher is 43.3, thus, the t-test analysis shows that the calculated t-test is 2.107, which is greater than the critical t (t=1.960). This implies that female teachers have more positive attitude towards the inclusion of special needs students than their male counterparts. Furthermore, the results reveal that significant difference exists between married and single teachers in their attitude towards special need students. And that professionally qualified teacher tends to have a more favourable attitude towards the inclusion of special need students than their untrained qualified teachers. It was recommended that teachers should attend seminars and conferences to improve their knowledge about ways of practicing and accepting inclusion for a better tomorrow for our special needs children in Kerala.
INTRODUCTION
A successful system of inclusion requires that the community believe in the competence of the education system to meet the needs of all students. Parents especially
References: 1. 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). 2. Avramidis, E., Bayliss, P. & Burden, R. (2000). Inclusion in action: An in-depth study. European Journal of Special Needs Education, Vol.17 (2). 3. Baker, J.M., & Zigmnd, N. (1990). Are regular education classes equipped to accommodate students with learning disabilities? Exceptional Children, Vol.56 (6), pp.515-526. 4. Bernal, J. R., & Torres, M.E. (1990). Successful classroom strategies for students at risk begin with effective in-service training. ERIC Digest, E.D.337306. 5. Cochran, H. K. (2000). The development and psychometric analysis of the Scale of Teachers Attitude Towards Inclusion (STATIC). 6. Dickens, Smith, M.(1995). The effect of Inclusion training on Teacher Attitude towards Inclusion. ERIC document, No.Ed.332-802. 7. Frolin, C. (1995). Educators’ beliefs about inclusive practices in Western Australia. British Journal of Special Education, Vol. 22, pp.179-185. 8. Johnson, J. (1996). Perceptions of regular education teachers’ regarding students with learning disabilities in their classrooms. Ph.D. Thesis, Northern Arizona University. 9. M.K. Smith & K.E. Smith.(2000). “I believe in Inclusion”, but…Regular education early childhood teacher attitudes of successful inclusion. Journal of Research in Childhood Education, Vol.14 (2), pp. 161-182. 10. Mayhew, J. (1994). Are pre-service general educators being adequately prepared for inclusion? ERIC Digest, E.D. 019557. 11. Nayak, J. (2008). Attitude of parents and teachers towards inclusive education. EDUTRACKS, Vol. 7 (6), pp.18-20. 12. Neary,T. & Halvorsen, A. (1995). What is Inclusion? ERIC Digest, ED.393248. 13. Raj, Kamalesh.(1991). Cooperation based learning strategies for disabled and non- disabled children in integrated settings. Indian Educational Review, Vol.26(3),pp.110- 122. 14. Richardson,S.O.(1996). Coping with Dyslexia in the regular classroom: Inclusion or Exclusion. Annuals of Dyslexia, Vol.46, pp.37-48. 15. Rieck,W.A., & Wadsworth, D.E. (2000). Inclusion: Administrative headache or Opportunity? NASSP Bulletin, October, pp.56-62. 16. Semmel, M. L., Abernathy, T. V., Butera, G. and Lesar, S. (1991). Teacher perceptions of the regular education initiative. Exceptional Children, Vol. 58, pp. 9-24.