Does Mainstreaming Work? Teachers’ Perspectives on Inclusive Education

Abstract

This paper presents the perspectives of teachers working in a vocational high school in Rome, considered a best practice for the success of its inclusion projects. The research adopted a phenomenological approach, according to which the focus of investigation is the study of subjective experience, and the comprehension of phenomena as they are lived and perceived by individuals. The research design was based on qualitative and participatory instruments such as in-depth interviews and field observations. Drawing mainly on data collected through interviews, the article describes teachers' viewpoints about the factors and managerial choices that contribute to the excellent results of the institution in the area of inclusion. The results are presented referring to relevant national and international scientific contributions about inclusive education and the effects of mainstreaming. The findings clearly show how effective school inclusion requires both top down and bottom up actions in order to create a supportive culture. When this requirement is met, a high number and variety of special needs represents an opportunity for the teaching staff to develop skills and competence.

Educational technology in inclusive classrooms: Assessing teacher awareness and needs

“…It was seen in the findings that most of the teachers stated they considered their knowledge level insufficient in terms of inclusive education. This finding is in parallel with the existing studies in the literature (Acarlar et al, 2003;Batmaz & Çermik, 2019;Cooc;2019;Familia-Garcia, 2001;Kamalı-Arslantaş & Kocaöz, 2023;Kamalı Arslantaş & Yalçın, 2023;Kocaoğlu et al, 2023;Taş, 2021;Zanazzi, 2018;Westwood & Graham, 2003;Woodcock & Woolfson, 2019). When the literature is examined, it is emphasized that teachers' level of knowledge about individuals with SEN and inclusive education is an important factor in creating effective learning environments (Metin, 2018).…”

“…Due to the lack of knowledge, teachers' stress and anxiety levels are higher in inclusive education environments (Gal et al, 2010;Heiman, 2014). Moreover, some studies' findings stand out that teachers consider 117 themselves inadequate in taking on a role in inclusive education (Cooc, 2019;Familia-Garcia, 2001;Westwood & Graham, 2003;Woodcock & Woolfson, 2019;Zanazzi, 2018). Some studies show teachers' attitudes are positive, that they are ready to use assistive technology with their SEN students, and that their self-efficacy is high (Surajudeen et al, 2023;Tsakiridou & Polyzopoulou, 2014).…”

“…There are several problems identified in the literature; first, teachers are generally unable to adapt the curriculum in inclusive classrooms (Deniz & Çoban, 2019), and those who stated that they did adapt the curriculum often did so by simplifying the topic or activity, and some of their adaptations consisted of simply enlarging fonts or pictures (Gürgür & Hasanoğlu Yazçayır, 2019). Secondly, besides, teachers benefit from peer support when designing the learning environment (Deniz & Çoban, 2019;Zanazzi, 2018), but have difficulty in designing classroom activities suitable for the level of SEN students (Duran Düşünür, 2018;Nordin, et al, 2023). In addition to these problems encountered in inclusive environments, teachers also mention the inadequacy of physical conditions (Berkant & Atılgan, 2017;Burunsuz & İnce, 2020;Deniz & Çoban, 2019), the time-related problems (Deniz & Çoban, 2019;Duran Düşünür, 2018;Westwood & Graham, 2003;Woodcock & Woolfson, 2019), crowded classroom sizes (Burunsuz & İnce, 2020;Deniz & Çoban, 2019;Gürgür & Hasanoğlu Yazçayır, 2019;Westwood & Graham, 2003;Woodcock & Woolfson, 2019), and the density of the curriculums (Berkant & Atılgan, 2017;Woodcock & Woolfson, 2019).…”