Teacher attitudes toward inclusion of students with disabilities in Jeddah elementary schools

Abstract

This study aims to investigate teachers’ attitudes toward the inclusion of students with special educational needs (SEN) in general school settings in Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Data were collected from a sample of teachers in Jeddah. A stratified random technique was utilized to choose the target sample, however, 187 teachers completely responded on the study questionnaire. Descriptive statistics were utilized to assess teachers’ demographic profile. Also, Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was utilized to examine the association between teachers’ demographic characteristics and their perceptions of SEN. Results revealed that teachers are more likely to believe that they lack the academic qualifications and training required for the inclusion of students with disabilities. They reported being trained only to teach students with learning difficulties rather than intellectual disabilities. The reported barriers to inclusion are lack of appropriate educational materials, limited time to devote sufficient attention to students with SEN, limited knowledge regarding SEN, and classrooms that are not designed for students with disabilities. The study findings therefore indicate the need for not only training teachers to teach students with disabilities but also, more importantly, ways to implement these strategies more effectively in typical school settings.