Occupational therapy students' attitudes towards inclusion education in Australia, United Kingdom, United States and Taiwan

Abstract

This international, cross-cultural study investigated the attitudes of occupational therapy students from Australia, United Kingdom, United States and Taiwan towards inclusive education for students with disabilities. The possible impact of professional education on students' attitudes was also explored. A total of 485 students from 11 entry-level occupational therapy education programmes from Australia, the United Kingdom, the United States and Taiwan participated in the study. Among them, 264 were freshmen (first-year students) and 221 were seniors (final-year students). Data collected from a custom-designed questionnaire were analysed both quantitatively and qualitatively. In general, the occupational therapy students reported having positive attitudes towards inclusion. Considerable differences, however, existed among the student groups from the four countries. Professional education appeared to have a significant impact on students' attitudes towards inclusion from first year to senior year. Although students were in favour of inclusion, they also cautioned that their support for inclusive practices depended on various factors such as adequate preparation, support and assistance to students with disabilities. Limitations of the study included the small, convenience sample and different degree structures of the participating programmes. Future research studies need to compare occupational therapy students' attitudes with students from other health care professions. A longitudinal study on the impact of the professional education programme on students' attitudes towards inclusive education is warranted.

An Investigation of the Satisfaction and Perception of Fieldwork Experiences Among Occupational Therapy Students

“…As compared with the ratio of males to females in Level II Fieldwork (90:186, close to 1:2) that year (2010), the proportion of female participants was slightly high. However, a thorough review of the literature (Crowe & Mackenzie, 2002;Hung & Chen, 2006;Mackenzie, 2002;Mitchell & Kampfe, 1993;Mu et al, 2010;Pfeifer et al, 2008;Stachura & Garven, 2007) found no reports of the effect of gender on students' perceptions of fieldwork. The results are presented here in the sequence in which the research questions were presented.…”

La educación inclusiva en el currículum de la formación del docente de educación escolar básica del 3º ciclo San Ignacio Misiones. 2019-2020

“…La práctica de la educación inclusiva es compartida por todos los agentes implicados (profesores, alumnos, padres), y es aquí donde se suele destacar el carácter nuclear del profesorado, tanto por sus actitudes como por su adecuada preparación, capacidad de apoyo y de asistencia a los alumnos (Mu et al 2010 ;Mober, y Savolainen, 2003).…”

Sylvia Rodger's contribution to a dynamic and diverse curriculum and education evidence base

“…Mu et al . () explored occupational therapy student attitudes towards inclusive education across four countries. The study highlighted the influence of student cohorts’ age and level of maturity as well as the local/country view of inclusion of children with disabilities in classrooms.…”