Teachers’ attitudes to mainstream schooling

Abstract

Children with a learning disability in Scotland, many of whom are likely to have behavior that challenges (Harris et al., 1996), are increasingly being educated in mainstream classrooms. The present study investigates the attitudes of teaching staff in Scotland towards the inclusion in mainstream education of children with a learning disability who display challenging behaviour.

Attitudes of Australian primary school teachers towards the inclusion of students with autism spectrum disorders

“…With increased numbers of students with a diverse range of disabilities entering mainstream education, the needs of both students and teachers have become an important focus for educational researchers. Literature reviews and research papers over the past five decades have highlighted the progression from negative to positive attitudes of teachers regarding the inclusion of students with disabilities within mainstream education (Avramidis and Norwich, 2002;Bowman, 1986;Hsien, Brown, and Bortoli, 2009;Levins, Bornholt, and Lennon, 2005;Rae, Murray, and McKenzie, 2010;Scruggs and Mastropieri, 1996;Soodak, Podell, and Lehman, 1998;Westwood and Graham, 2003). Over time teachers have voiced their attitudes towards the inclusion of students with disabilities from earlier beliefs supporting the inclusion of students with mild physical disabilities only, to the readiness of educators to accept most students with a wide range of physical disabilities.…”

“…In more recent studies, teachers have espoused more positive attitudes towards inclusion overall though they have still acknowledged that integration while desirable, is not always practical due to considerable challenges resulting from specific mental and severe behavioural disorders (Cumming, 2011;Forbes, 2007;Hsien, Brown and Bortoli, 2009;Rae, Murray, and McKenzie, 2010;Westwood and Graham, 2003). Students with cognitive functioning disabilities and challenging social and emotional behaviours have resulted in higher levels of negative attitudes towards inclusion from teachers which only increased with experience of working with these student cohorts (Rae, Murray, and McKenzie, 2010;Soodak, Podell, and Lehman, 1998). This was suggested to have been because of low levels of relevant professional development or preservice training, culminating in teachers not being able to ª 2018 NASEN effectively engage with some students with disabilities on multiple occasions, compounding teachers' negative attitudes towards the inclusion of students with the same disabilities in the future (Scruggs and Mastropieri, 1996;Soodak, Podell, and Lehman, 1998).…”

“…A substantial body of literature exists which has addressed the attitudes of teachers to the inclusion of students with disabilities. Researchers have found that teachers held more positive views towards the inclusion of students with physical or mild learning disabilities, compared to those with disabilities that included emotional disorders, cognitive impairment or severe behavioural issues (Cumming, ; Rae, Murray and McKenzie, ; Soodak, Podell and Lehman, ). As numerous students with ASD face many of these challenges, specifically addressing teachers’ attitudes towards students with ASD is of importance in planning for successful inclusion strategies.…”

“…The bar of acceptance had been raised from mild physical impairments to include a wider range of students with differing physical and mental abilities and challenges. In more recent studies, teachers have espoused more positive attitudes towards inclusion overall though they have still acknowledged that integration while desirable, is not always practical due to considerable challenges resulting from specific mental and severe behavioural disorders (Cumming, ; Forbes, ; Hsien, Brown and Bortoli, ; Rae, Murray, and McKenzie, ; Westwood and Graham, ). Students with cognitive functioning disabilities and challenging social and emotional behaviours have resulted in higher levels of negative attitudes towards inclusion from teachers which only increased with experience of working with these student cohorts (Rae, Murray, and McKenzie, ; Soodak, Podell, and Lehman, ).…”

“…Difficulties in the inclusion of students with complex, multi‐faceted disabilities have resulted in teachers expressing the need for higher educational qualifications and professional development with increased external professional support, to address occupational therapy and speech therapy issues (Hsien, Brown, and Bortoli, ). Targeted training, the development of support groups and the need for greater collaboration between schools, teachers and parents of students have also been identified as a priority for the success of educational inclusion (Rae, Murray and McKenzie, ); Specific support in addressing emotional and behavioural disorders is also lacking, and often results in excessive amounts of time being spent by teachers undertaking behavioural management issues arising from a minority of students (Cumming, ). Given the numerous issues pertaining to effective inclusion for students with disabilities within the literature, a focus of this study was to explore possible correlations between the amount of specialist training and the length of specialist experience and teachers’ attitudes specifically focussing on the inclusion of students with ASD.…”