Attitudes of secondary school teachers towards students diagnosed with mental disorder in schools in the province of Concepción and Diguillín: A qualitative study

Abstract

Teachers' attitudes towards students with a diagnosis of mental disorder have been scarcely explored in Chile and Latin America despite their importance given the impact they have on the students' learning process. The present study aimed at describing the attitudes of secondary school teachers towards students who present a diagnosis of mental disorder (TM). This research used a qualitative methodology with a phenomenological focus. Content and thematic analysis was used to analyze the corpus. The sample was obtained for convenience and corresponded to 30 high school teachers from schools of different administrative dependency (local, subsidized and private). Semi-structured interviews were carried out due to theoretical saturation. The results show that secondary school teachers show contradictory attitude towards their students with mental disorder, both positive and negative. Negative attitudes have to do with fear and hazard, while positive attitudes are related to support and favorable expectations of success. Negative attitudes are comparable to those shared by the general population, while positive attitudes and favorable expectations of success towards their students could be explained by the impact of inclusive education in schools and the theory of contact. These results should be used to guide educational institutions in improving teachers' attitudes towards students with TM.