Dissertation Paper

 Introduction

Teaching is regarded to be an art and skill, which plays significant roles in nation building process all around the world (Bhalla, Jajoo &Kalantri, 2012). The teachers in various education levels promote the intellectual and social development of children during their formative years. The teachers have a role in aiding the students in developing their intellectual, spiritual, social, religious, emotional and physical wellbeing in a well-balanced and harmonious way by providing the tools and the environment for them to become responsible and productive adults. 

Teachers have a role in enabling the students to attain cognitive, sensory and behavioral aim as well as gains with the range identified by the educational system. The quality of teaching in schools, as well as the outcome of the education system, is dependent on several factors that include the teacher’s formal education and experience, as well as love, dedication, attitudes, and devotion of the teacher towards the subject of the knowledge and the students.

An attitude, which is a person’s prevailing psychological tendency to respond favorably or unfavorably to something or an object, is a vital factor affecting students’ academic performances in the education system (Ulug et al., 2011). Teachers’ attitudes can be categorized as positive and negative attitudes. Teachers’ positive attitudes are described as understanding, compassionate, helpful, seeing the student as an individual, communicating, motivating, being genuine and tolerant, encouraging participation in social events and being friendly and interested (Ulug et al., 2011). Teachers who have a positive attitude towards classroom teaching, teaching profession, child-centered practices and educational process react to ideas and feelings of students and create an emotional climate in the classroom. The positive attitude of teachers is associated with a better academic performance of the students as well as numerous benefits (de Souza Barros &Elia, 2012). Teachers attitude towards reading in the content areas affect the probability that teachers will execute literacy instruction in the subjects they teach. Teachers that use strategies in their instruction lead to significant improvement in student reading achievement (de Souza Barros &Elia, 2012). Teachers’ negative attitudes also influence the learning process in different negative ways (Unianu, 2012). They include teachers’ lack of confidence caused by poor conceptual and phenomenological physics foundations, teachers’ that do not bring innovations of new curricula and methodologies, lack of coherence between classroom attitudes and their expressed belief on active techniques of interaction and that teachers tend to see school failure due to the socio-psychological deprivation (de Souza Barros &Elia, 2012). Various factors influence the teacher attitude in schools consequently affecting the kind of education provided. It is essential to study teacher attitudes to give teachers the adequate support to implement inclusive education to its optimum potential. The significance of attitude in the education system has led to increased attention to teachers’ attitudes towards special needs students.

Background

The performance of children living with disabilities in regular schools is affected by several factors among them the teachers’ attitude. Teachers have to ensure quality education for all the students. A quality education includes cognitive learning as well as human values, attitudes, skills, and competencies (Rodríguez, Saldana & Moreno, 2012). Attitudes are conceptualized as relatively stable constructs consisting of cognitive, affective and behavioral components. The integration of regular educational programs within the classroom can lead to positive teachers’ attitudes, which in turn consequently result in successful inclusion for children with disabilities in regular classrooms.

Special education is an educational program with a ‘unique curriculum and syllabus’ that is uniquely designed, and taught by teachers trained in special education, to meet the needs of students with disabilities. The inclusion practice in the education system is based on the notion that all children should be equally valued members of the school culture (Rodríguez et al., 2012).  In some educational systems, however, the inclusion of children with disabilities within regular classrooms is advocated. Inclusion or inclusive education gets interpreted as the philosophy and practice of educating special needs children in general education settings. Special needs children such as educable mentally disabled students, emotionally disturbed and learning disabled students benefit highly from inclusion program.

Inclusive education requires that teachers in this system play their roles to ensure that all the children learn as well as feel they belong in that environment. The teachers have to undertake certain roles to create an all-inclusive environment. First, the teachers must identify and accept the children with special needs and develop positive attitudes towards both the disabled and normal children. Second, the teacher should place the children living with disabilities in strategic positions in a class where they are comfortable and benefit adequately from the class sessions. Third, the teacher should modify the curriculum to accommodate the students with special needs during learning and prepare teaching aids that assist them in learning. Fourth, the teacher should coordinate with all medical and physiological pannals, social workers, parents and special education teacher for the benefit of the student. Lastly, the teacher should undertake parental guidance and counseling as well as have a public awareness programme in the school (Tyagi, 2016).

The teacher’s attitudes towards inclusive education programs are established in the context of a school’s education system that offers specific conditions to allow for proper practice in this area. Greene (2017) determined that although teachers had positive attitudes towards inclusive education program, they also had negative attitudes towards philosophical elements of inclusionary teaching practices. The attitudes of teachers towards inclusionary practices were majorly influenced by teacher’s characteristics that include the level of education, gender, age, length of teaching experience, contact with disabled persons and teacher training. Positive attitudes towards inclusive education practices were associated with teachers who had attained higher education levels, older teachers, female teachers, those with long ages in teaching, those trained in special education and those who had previous contact with disabled persons.

A study carried out by Alghazo (2012) investigated Jordanian teachers and administrators’ attitudes towards persons with disabilities in which the researcher found out that the general educators’ attitude towards a person with a disability was negative. In the study, most of the teachers accepted more of the students with learning disabilities as compared with the fewer teachers who accepted the students with mental retardation. For instance, research on teachers’ attitude towards the inclusion of hard-of-hearing students in general education classrooms has shown that the dealing with the communication barrier led to an improved attitude of teachers in accepting the hard-of-hearing.

Various factors significantly affect the attitude of teachers who teach children with special needs. The factors include teachers’ education with special needs, experience in teaching special needs, and gender. Teachers’ education in special needs plays a critical role in affecting the attitudes of teachers towards special needs children (Rodríguez et al., 2012). Studies have shown those teachers with less information and training in special-needs education and who have less interactive experience with special-needs children have a high likelihood to exhibit less favorable attitudes. Training in inclusive practices leads to improved attitudes of younger trainee teachers but not for the older trainee teachers (Rodríguez et al., 2012). The training the teacher gets, particularly when it involves related and specific professional abilities, profoundly influences the development of attitudes towards inclusive education.  Female teacher trainees are more tolerant in executing inclusive education as compared to male teacher trainees. When experience is considered, teachers with extended experience in teaching children with disabilities show a more positive attitude towards inclusive education that their fellow teachers who have less experience. The teacher perception on the availability of resources that include training, support in the classroom as well as support from experts in the field also dramatically influences the configuration of attitudes of teachers (Rodríguez et al., 2012). 

The attitudes of teachers affect the academic performance of children with special needs significantly. The attitude of teachers towards inclusive education and special needs children are shown through their actions and interactions with the students in the classroom. Examples of these actions include teachers providing positive feedback and more attention to students who are good performers. Positive attitudes of teachers are a crucial predictor of the successful education and performance of children living with disabilities such as those with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). According to Elliot (2014), a positive attitude of a teacher toward inclusion and teacher effectiveness provides all the students including those living with disabilities, significantly more practice attempts, at a higher level of success. The lack of efficacy contributes to challenges for teachers concerning inclusion because of lack of proper training and education on inclusion.

Negative teachers’ attitudes have a significant adverse impact on the classroom environment in special needs schools, their ability to instruct these students and the overall learning quality (Vaz, Wilson, Falkmer, Sim, Scott, Cordier, &Falkmer, 2015).The attitude of teachers who teach children with special needs has increasingly been researched because it significantly influences their academic performance. The teachers’ attitude towards the inclusion of special needs children is a vital factor in enabling a successful implementation of an inclusion program. Various factors affect the configuration of teachers’ attitudes towards special needs children.

The Nigerian education system is a public enterprise that has led to government complete and dynamic intervention as well as active participation. Inclusive education practice in Nigeria is seen as a way of serving special needs children with the general education classrooms. In 2004, the Nigeria’s National Policy on Education introduced the programme known as ‘special education’ to cater for disabled citizens, the disadvantaged and the gifted and talented involving people. The country also developed a policy to ensure that special needs children receive education at all levels without any payment.  It included the introduction of the integrated special classes in public schools under the Universal Basic Education (UBE) scheme and regular census and monitoring to ensure educational planning for children living with disabilities. The integration of inclusive education in Nigeria has been identified as the only type of education that can prevent discrimination as well as lead to receiving of education for all (Adetoro, 2014).

Purpose of the Study

The purpose of this qualitative case study is to learn teachers’ perceptions and attitudes of inclusive education programs toward student academic performance of physically disabled students who are mainstreamed into Nigerian public secondary schools. The study will use a theoretical framework that teachers have accepted the integration of an inclusive education practice in the school curriculum and are vital in determining the overall performance of the students (Mertens, 2014). A purposeful sampling approach will be used to obtain a sample of 15 teachers at Nigerian public secondary schools. The criteria used to select the teachers for the study will include a random selection of teachers in inclusive education programs within public secondary schools in Nigeria. The teachers will however not be selected from any particular subjects. A sample of two student grades under each participating teacher is also intended. Data will be acquired through individual interviews with participating teachers and grades of disabled students within the participating teachers’ class. Discourse analysis will be used to analyze interview data. The grades of the students will be analyzed descriptively to support interview data collected from teachers who teach physically disabled students in Nigeria.

The results of the study will give an accurate description of teachers’ perceptions and attitudes of the inclusion program, in particular on the students’ performance within the program. The study will provide an understanding of potential teacher influences on student performance, attitudes explicitly toward teaching physically disabled students within mainstream public secondary schools in Nigeria. The recommendations of the study will be highlighted to improve the quality of education for disabled students in the mainstream Nigerian school system.

Theoretical/Conceptual Framework

The use of the construct above allows the researcher to investigate the teachers’ attitudes and beliefs on special needs education. The construct covers the fundamental aspects of teachers’ beliefs (general pedagogical knowledge), quality indicators of education at the classroom level (such as classroom disciplinary climate) and at the school level (quality of school relations), the teachers’ activities (such as teaching practices and teachers’ cooperation) and the general job related attitudes.

Figure 1: Framework for the analysis of teaching attitudes and practices (adapted from Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, 2009).

References

Adetoro, R. A. (2014). Inclusive Education in Nigeria—A Myth or Reality?. Creative Education, 5(20), 1777.

Alghazo, E. M. (2012). Educators’ attitudes toward persons with disabilities: Factors affecting inclusion. Journal of Faculty of Education, 17(19), 27-44.

Bhalla, A., Jajoo, U. N., & Kalantri, S. P. (2012). Attitude of teachers towards teaching. The Journal of the Association of Physicians of India, 50, 1405-1408.

De Souza Barros, S., &Elia, M. F. (2012). Physics teacher's attitudes: How do they affect the reality of the classroom and models for change? Connecting research in physics education with teacher education.

Greene, B. L. (2017). Teachers' Attitudes toward Inclusive Classrooms.

Henry, A.  (2012). Taking Back Control: African Canadian women teachers’ lives and Practice.  Albany State University of New York.

Mertens, D. M. (2014). Research and evaluation in education and psychology: Integrating diversity with quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods. Sage Publications.

Rodríguez, I. R., Saldana, D., & Moreno, F. J. (2012). Support, inclusion, and special education teachers’ attitudes toward the education of students with autism spectrum disorders. Autism research and treatment, 2012.

Tyagi, G. (2016). Role of Teacher in Inclusive Education.

Ulug, M., Ozden, M. S., & Eryilmaz, A. (2011). The effects of teachers’ attitudes on students’ personality and performance. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 30, 738-742.

Unianu, E. M. (2012). Teachers’ attitudes towards inclusive education. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 33, 900-904.

Vaz, S., Wilson, N., Falkmer, M., Sim, A., Scott, M., Cordier, R., & Falkmer, T. (2015). Factors associated with primary school teachers’ attitudes towards the inclusion of students with disabilities. PloS one, 10(8), e0137002.

Carolyn Morgan is the author of this paper. A senior editor at MeldaResearch.Com in nursing research paper writing service California. If you need a similar paper you can place your order from nursing paper writing services Pennsylvania.