The implementation of inclusive policies is largely dependent on teachers' willingness to accommodate students with special educational needs (SEN) in mainstream classrooms, which is affected by ...their perceived competence and attitudes. This study investigated attitudes of pre- and in-service teachers toward students with two types of SEN: challenging behavior and learning difficulties. The three components of attitudes (affective, cognitive, and behavioral) were assessed using indirect and direct measures. Results revealed that teachers held negative implicit attitudes toward challenging behavior and learning difficulties, however, implicit attitudes did not vary as a function of the type of SEN. Ratings of the stereotypical dimensions warmth and competence and overall ratings of scholastic achievement were affected by professional status and type of SEN. Professional status, implicit attitudes, and stereotypical knowledge together explained 52 and 43% of the variance in teachers' ratings of academic proficiency for students with challenging behavior and learning difficulties, respectively. Results are interpreted within the theoretical framework and implications for teacher training are discussed.
Teachers' attitudes towards students with disabilities have a crucial role in the effective implementation of the school inclusion process. This study examined the relationship of relevant teachers' ...personal variables (gender, age, length of professional experience, and the grade of the school in which they teach), characteristics of the students with disabilities (type of disability, gender), and contextual factors (type of information provided in the students' profiles of children with disabilities) with teachers' attitudes towards students with disabilities. A sample of 336 mainstream Italian primary and secondary teachers was involved. Results showed that teachers' gender, age, and length of professional experience were not related to their attitudes. Secondary school teachers hold more negative attitudes related to the social acceptability of students with disabilities. More negative attitudes related to school performance towards boys and students with intellectual disability, and more negative attitudes related to social acceptability towards students with behaviour problems were found. Lastly, the type of information provided in the students' profiles of children with disabilities positively impacted teachers' attitudes towards the students when the descriptions focused on their strengths. Implications of the results are discussed in terms of promoting teachers' positive attitudes towards students with disabilities.
The phenomenon of diverse families has expanded in recent years. Although it has important implications in the field of education, this issue has been largely overlooked in the research on early ...education in Israel. The aim of the present study is to examine the attitudes of Israeli kindergarten teachers towards diverse families and the practices they use in this context. For this purpose, we conducted a qualitative study, using in-depth, semi-structured interviews among 20 Jewish-Israeli state kindergarten teachers. The main findings are that, overall, the attitudes of kindergarten teachers towards diverse families are positive, and they use different practices for dealing with family diversity and integrate this issue in their routine educational activities. Despite this, due to various factors, the positive attitudes are not always implemented in practice. These findings highlight the need to guide kindergarten teachers to work with diverse families, preparing them to adapt to the changing society.
The growing impact and importance of artificial intelligence in society has led to an increasing interest for the potential of artificial intelligence as an educational tool in schools to aid both ...students and teachers. In this study we investigate digitally skilled K-12 mathematics teachers’ (N=85) attitudes towards and expectations on the role of artificial intelligence in the classroom. The study was done by conducting and analyzing the results of a web-based survey among Swedish and Finnish speaking mathematics teachers using a mixed methods strategy. The Will, Skill and Tool framework was used for the analysis. The survey was done before the introduction of ChatGPT-3. The results indicate that the teachers’ attitudes toward AI tools in school are characterized by interest, openness, and awareness. Teachers have a balanced view on the possibilities and risks of AI use in school. However, the teachers also stress that there is a risk that AI tools will shift the focus from learning key mathematical skills towards learning and interaction with the AI tools themselves. The research concluded that the K-12 mathematics teachers surveyed have broad experience with digital tools and will likely become early adopters of AI tools in the classroom.
The article aims to explore Greek preschool and primary school teachers' experience regarding students coming from lesbian-parent families. In recent years, the composition of school classes in ...Greece has become more diverse. However, the inclusion of students and families from the LGBTQ+ community in the educational system and the teachers' role in creating inclusive schools has not been systematically investigated. Six primary school teachers who had had experience with students from lesbian-parent families were interviewed. Their narratives were analyzed using interpretative phenomenological analysis, a qualitative research method which allows the in-depth examination of the participants' experiences while simultaneously acknowledging the researcher's active role. The analysis of the interviews yielded four themes (the "uncanny," in the classroom, cooperation between teachers and lesbian parents, the broader educational context). The discussion highlights the need for teacher training on LGBTQ+ issues to lay robust foundations for inclusion in schools.
While it has been established that inclusive education training enhances attitudes and self-efficacy, which are predictors of burnout, the specific relation between these constructs has not yet been ...investigated. In this study, the impact of an online training course was assessed using a pretest-intervention-posttest design. The interest constructs were assessed through online self-reported scales. Results show that self-efficacy mediates the relation between attitudes and the personal accomplishment dimension of burnout. The training improves attitudes, self-efficacy and personal accomplishment and decreases general burnout in pre-service teachers. The results are discussed in light of the need to develop efficient training for teachers in an inclusive framework.
•Negative attitudes towards inclusive education and low self-efficacy trigger burnout in teachers.•Teacher self-efficacy explains the relation between attitudes towards inclusive education and personal accomplishment.•Training improves teachers' attitudes towards inclusive education, self-efficacy, personal accomplishment decreases burnout.•Evidence-based training is needed to alleviate teachers' concerns in inclusive settings.
Teacher’s attitude towards inclusive education becomes an important variable for the successful implementation of the program. This research aims to examine whether there are differences of teachers’ ...attitude toward inclusive education in terms of the duration of training and the teaching experience of students with special needs. The research was conducted in regular schools that provide inclusive education services in East Java, at elementary, junior high school, high school and vocational high school. Data were collected using a questionnaire and analyzed with Two Path Variant Analysis. The results showed that there were significant differences of teachers’ attitude towards inclusive education. The more experienced and the longer the duration of the training, the more positive the teacher’s attitude towards inclusive education.
This research was aimed to analyse the current state in primary and secondary schools in the Republic of Serbia, regarding chemistry teachers? initial education and self-perceived competencies. As an ...instrument, a questionnaire of 20 questions was used, which was prepared in the form of a Google questionnaire. The questions were divided into five groups to examine data on the structure of chemistry teachers (gender, age, place and school where they teach), the level of education obtained and the method of acquisition and acquired competencies, and finally the personal opinion of chemistry teachers about the teaching profession, advantages, disadvantages and possible recommendations to his/her students in terms of choosing this profession as a possible career. The questionnaire was sent to 1537 schools and 497 chemistry teachers took part in the questionnaire. The results showed that chemistry teachers are predominantly women, mostly aged 36?55, full-time employed and with an average working experience of over 11 years. Most teachers have appropriate education and acquired competencies. They cite working with children as the biggest advantage of the teaching profession while as the biggest disadvantage, they report a constant increase in the amount of administration from year to year.
Since the publication of the Education for People with Special Educational Needs Act in 2004, inclusion in Ireland has become a priority for the educational system. Despite the promotion of physical ...education (PE) as a key setting for facilitating inclusion in schools, research has shown that the children with special educational needs and disabilities are still excluded from PE. Research evidence shows that teachers' attitudes and self-efficacy and the broader school context within which teachers work are among the most important factors facilitating inclusion in PE. Therefore, the aim of this study was to explore teachers' attitudes towards inclusion, self-efficacy in delivering inclusive pedagogies, and perceptions about whether inclusion was supported within the schools. A cross-sectional design was used, and a questionnaire was sent to Irish PE teachers. Results of this study showed that teachers' attitudes were positively correlated to the number of different types of disabilities in PE class. It was found that secondary school teachers had higher self-efficacy levels than their primary school colleagues. Findings from this study revealed that teachers who had frequent personal contact with SEND people showed more positive perceptions about the extent to which inclusion was supported in the school within which they worked.
Western countries have placed a lot of importance on school inclusion policies in the last decade. Strong promotion of these policies encourages teachers to express egalitarian attitudes and ...behaviours towards all students. However, at the same time teachers may experience feelings of discomfort because of perceived difficulties and powerlessness in implementing the inclusion policy. The discrepancy between what teachers say and their internal discomfort can lead to burnout. The aim of this study was to test the relationship between a teacher's implicit and explicit attitudes towards disability and burnout. To this end, we used explicit self-reported measures of attitudes and burnout, and a specific paradigm to assess implicit attitudes towards disability (disability-IAT). Results showed that implicit attitudes were significantly more negative than explicit attitudes. The more positive the explicit attitudes, the less the individuals experienced exhaustion, whereas the more negative the implicit attitudes, the more exhausted the respondents felt. These results suggest teachers need to internalise positive feelings about inclusion to protect themselves against risks of emotional exhaustion.
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