DefinePK

Abstract

Background: Inclusive education is a global agenda, generally inclusion in education means full inclusion of children with various abilities in all aspects of schooling that other children have. Teachers have been seen as key persons to implement inclusive education and considered to play a substantial role in the implementation of such educational change.
Objective: To see the factors that influence the attitude and concerns of teachers regarding the inclusive education of special needs children.
Methodology: It was a cross sectional survey. Sample of 100 (50 mainstream school and 50 special education) teachers were taken by using a convenient sampling technique. The study was conducted from October 2017 to December 2017 in two special education center school of government and two private mainstream schools of Lahore, Pakistan. A questionnaire containing two sections was used to collect data. A sheet containing demographic details of study participants and associated factors and Sentiments, Attitude, and Concerns (SACIE-R), data was gathered and analyzed using SPSS-version 21.
Results: 89% were females and 11% were males. The teacher type (mainstream and special) had a statically significant effect on attitude towards inclusive education by showing p value=0.02. Variables like gender, age, and contact with person having disability, experience, education, and confidence levels all had a significant impact on the teacher’s attitude. \
Conclusion: It was concluded that all children can learn when teaching is effective and meets individual strengths and needs. There must be an emphasis on changing schools' culture for providing resources and to build enough capacity in special as well as regular schools to offer new opportunities to pupils who experience difficulties in learning.
Keywords: Child, Special, Education, Teachers, Concerns, Attitude, Inclusive