ECH333Assignment3EmileeTang

Assignmenttopic2:
Introduction:
Animportantobjectiveofmanyinclusiveeducationalpoliciesistoensureteachersand
preserviceteacherstoeducatestudentswithdisabilitiesorimpairmentsinaninclusive
approachclassroom.AsBerlackandChambers(2007)havearguethattheattitudeof
teachersandpreserviceteacherstowardsinclusivityarecriticaltothesuccessof
inclusivepractices,itisanimportantroleforteacherstobeabletoimplementanopen
andinclusivelearningenvironment,cateringfortheneedsofallstudents.Firstly,to
examinewhattheattitudesofteachersandpreserviceteachersholdtowardsinclusivity,
itisessentialtodefinethetermsattitudeandinclusion.Attitude,inthecontextof
inclusiveeducation,isdefinedasanindividualviewpointtorespondfavourablyor
unfavourablytowardsaparticularindividual,inaconsistentandaccordantmanner
(Corsini,R.J.,&Auberbach,A.J.1998).InclusionaccordingtoRafferty,Boettcher
andGriffin(2011),isreferredtoastheprocessofbeingabletoprovidesupportand
necessaryservicestoaccommodatetheneedsofstudentswithdisabilitiesorimpairment
ineducationalclassrooms.Avramidis&Norwich(2010)alsoreinforcethatinclusionis
philosophyofacceptanceandbelonging,ensureallstudentsareabletobelongingin
thesameschoolenvironmentaswellascommunity.Theliteraturereviewcompriseof
researchstudiesthatarepeerreviewedarticles,identifiesandexploresaspectsand
factorsthatmaypresentchallengestothesuccessofinclusivepractices.Thesefactors
includechildrelatedvariables,teacherrelatedvariablesandeducationalenvironmental
variables.

Discomfortcontactwithstudentswithdisabilities:
Numerousresearchstudieshighlightsthatwhenteachesaswellaspreserviceteachers
experiencecontactwithstudentswithdisabilities,itisanimportantfactorin
determiningandshapingtheirattitudestowardsinclusivity.InCaroll,Forlin&Jobbling
(2003)research,itinvolved220preserviceteachersstudyingatUniversityas
participants,andexploredthefrequencyandtypeoffacetofaceinteractionbetween
preserviceteacherswithstudentswhohavedisability.Oneofthemethodsusedwas

ECH333Assignment3EmileeTang

thatparticipantsaretocompleteamodifiedversionoftheInteractionswithDisabled
PersonsScale(IDP)involvingtheirdemographiccharacteristics,byrankingtheir
discomfortwhenhavingcontactwithstudentswithdisabilities,usinga5pointsscale
(Caroll,etal.,2003).Thisresearchhadrevealedthatoutof220participants,
approximately12%hadeverydaycontactwithpeoplethathavedisabilitiesandthat
approximately44participantshadmonthlycontact,indicatingthatgreatercontactwith
peoplewhohavedisabilitiesisabletoledtosignificantlylowerlevelsofdiscomfort
andlessconcern.(Caroll,etal.,2003,pp.73).However,McManus,FeyesandSaucier
(2010)challengesCarolletal.,2003conclusions,byemphasisingthatitisimportantto
havegreaterqualityofcontactandinteraction,ratherthanthequantityofcontactwith
individualswithdisability.InconjunctionwithBrandesandCrowson(2009)study,it
furtherrevealsthatwhenonestendencytoexperiencegreaterdiscomfortwith
individualsthathavedisability,thiscontributesandsignificantlyimpactontheir
adoptionofnegativeattitudes,whichinturnappearstocontributetotheadoptionof
negativeattitudes(Brandes,A.J.,&Crowson,M.2008.Pp.285).Theirstudyinvolved
190preserviceeducatorsasparticipantswhoarepresentedwithascenariowherethey
wouldhavetointeractwithoneormoreindividualswithadisability.Participantsthen
ratedtheirlevelofagreementanddisagreementwithadjectivessuchascalmandfearful
todescribetheiremotionalstates.Thisisabletofurtherhighlightthatpreservice
educatorsaremorelikelytoholdnegativeattitudetowardsstudentswithdisability,as
wellastheirdisagreementwithinclusiveclassroomsduetotheirdiscomfortwith
disability(Brandes,etal.,2008).Bylookingatfindingsoftheseresearchstudies,it
revealsthatteachersandpreserviceteacherswhoexperiencegreaterdiscomfortare
necessarytoadoptanegativeattitudetoinclusion.
Teachersattitudetowardsstudentsdifferingeducationalneeds:
Studentswithdisabilitiesfacebarriersthatareresultedfromtheirownphysical,
emotionalandcognitivelimitations.Regardingteachersattitudestowardstheinclusion
ofstudentswithspecialneeds,severalstudiesrevealedthatteachersdifferentiatetheir
attitudesandpracticesdependingonthestudentstypeofdisability(deBoer,A.,Pijl,S.
J.,&Minnaert,A.2011).Alsostudentswithemotionaldisabilitiessuchasattention
disorderdeficithyperactivitydisorder(alsoreferredtoasADHD),mayposeteachers

ECH333Assignment3EmileeTang

negativeattitudetoinclusion.BylookingcloselyatYoussef,Hutchinson&Yosssef
(2015)researchofteachersattitudestowardsstudentswhohaveADHD,teacherstend
toviewstudentswithADHDwithasignificantlylessfavourablyattitudethanstudents
whodoesnothaveADHD.Participatesintheirresearchincluded289teachersfrom29
schoolsandthemethodusedwasacrosssectionaldescriptivesurvey,assessingthe
teachersattitudesandknowledgeofADHD.A5PointLikertscalewasalsousedto
assessteachersattitudestowardsADHD,where1meansparticipatesisstrongly
agreeingwiththestatementand5indicatingtheystronglydisagree(Yousefetal.,
2015).Asaresultofthesefindings,itwasseenthatstudentswithADHDaredisruptive
intheclassroomenvironmentandparticipatedbelievedthatstudentswiththisparticular
disorderwasbesttaughtbyspecialeducationalteachers(Yossefetal.,2015).26
questionswereusedasamethodtoassessparticipatesknowledge,weareabletosee
thatparticipatesknowledgeaboutADHDwasrelativelylow,asthemeanofthetotal
knowledgeislessthan50%(Yosssef,etal.,2015).Suchfindingsfromtheseresearches
mentioned,emphasistheimportanceforteacherstobecomemoreeducatedandreceived
effectiveinservicetraininginregardstoADHD.Ifteachershavemoreknowledge
aboutthisdisorder,theyarebettertomeettheneedsofthestudent,whichintermmeans
theirattitudeiscriticaltothesuccessofinclusivepractices.(Yossef,etal.,2015).

Yearsofteachingexperienceoftheteacher:
Severalstudiesexploredtheimpactofteachersattitudetowardsinclusiveeducation,
weresignificantlyinfluencedbytheiryearsofteachingexperience.Teacherswithless
teachingexperience,heldsignificantlymorefavourableandpositiveattitudestothe
inclusionofstudents,incomparisontoteacherswhohadmoreyearsofteaching
experience.ThisisevidentbythestudyofAlghazoandNaggadGadd(2004),
highlightingthatthosewithteachingexperiencerangingfromonetofiveyears,had
morefavourableattitudestowardstheinclusionofstudentswithdisabilityandalso
specialneeds,incontrasttoteacherswhohavetaughtbetween6to11years.Glaubman
andLiftshitz2001studywasabletobackbythis,astheydiscoveredthatforteaches
whohaslessyearsofteachingexperience(110years),weresignificantlymorepositive
thanthosewhohadmorethan11yearsexperience.Althoughweareabletoslightlysee
thatashiftingnegativeattitudestowardsinclusivepracticesisnotsuccessful,itis

ECH333Assignment3EmileeTang

importanttohavemoreresearchfindingsinregardstoteachersattitudesbasedontheir
yearsofteachingexperience,asbothoftheseresultswiththeteachersyearsof
experiencecontradictedwitheachotherandwasnotabletoprovideanadequate
conclusion.

Preserviceteachersattitudestowardsinclusiveeducationthroughtheiryearsof
studies:
Additionally,byfurtherexploringCostello&Boyle(2013)researchstudy,thestudy
hypothesisedthatwhenpreserviceteacherswhoarestudyingandundertakingtraining,
theywillhaveamorepositiveattitudetowardsinclusiveeducation.Itwasalso
predictedinthisresearchthatpreserviceteacherswouldhaveamuchmorebetter
understandingofdefininginclusiveastheyprogressthroughyearsofstudy.The
participantsinthisstudyincluded193preserviceteachersandtheTeacherAttitudeto
InclusiveScale(TAIS)wasusedtomeasuretheirattitudestowardsinclusiveeducation.
TheTAISincluded27highlyreliablemeasuresofattitudestowardsinclusiveeducation
questionsincludingaquestion,whichdiscoverstheirknowledgeofwhat,thedefinition
ofinclusionis(Costello,etal.,2013).Also,asixpointLikertscalewasused;wherea1
meanttheparticipantstronglydisagreewiththequestionand6,indicatingtheydo
stronglyagree.Theresultsrevealedthattherewasasignificantdifferenceinscoresby
thosewhowereabletodefinewhatinclusiveeducationis,comparedtothosethatdid
notEachparticipatescoreforeachcomponentwascalculatedbyaddingthesumoftotal
items,andthendividingitbythenumberofitems,allowingforconsistencyofscores
(Costello,etal.,2013).Asaresultofthisstudy,itrevealedthatparticipantshadmore
positiveattitudestowardsinclusioninthefirstyearofuniversitycomparedtothose
duringthelastfewyears.Inlookingatthisstudy,itisimportanttotakeaccountofthe
limitations,astherewasalownumbersofparticipateswhoarefourthyearsandthat
thisresearchwasconductedwasbasedonjustoneAustralianuniversity,Alsotheremay
notbeenoughtimeforthosetodefinewhatinclusiveeducationis,whichaffectstheir
overallscore.
Training:

ECH333Assignment3EmileeTang

Researchonpreserviceteachersisvitalastheattitudestheyformduringinservice
training,arelikelytoaffectandinfluencetheirbehaviourandpracticesduringtheir
teachingcareer(Hastings,P.R.,&Oakland,S.2010).AvramidisandKalyvva(2007)
researchisabouttosupporttheresearchofYoussedetal.,2014,emphasisingthatwhen
increasingteachersknowledgeinADHD,theyaremorelikelytodisplayamore
tolerantattitudestowardsstudentswithADHD.BylookingatthestudiesofCostello&
Boyce(2013),itinvolved193preserviceteachersasparticipantspositiveandnegative
affectscaleshighlightedthatparticipantsdidnothaveapositiveandfavourableattitude
towardstheirtrainingininclusion.Thisalsorevealedthatparticipantsintheirlastfew
yearsofstudyweresignificantlylesscomparedtoparticipantsinthefirstandsecond
years.Also,thefindingssuggestedthatparticipateswerenotaspositiveintheir
attitudestowardstrainingandperceivedcompetenceastheymaybeinadequately
trainedinordertoimplementinclusiveapproachandpracticesintheclassroomsetting
(Costelloetal,2013.Pp.139).AlsobylookingatthemainfindingsofCarroll(2003),it
suggestedthatthereisaneedtoimprovethetrainingteachersreceived,asthereare
limitationsinteachingtrainingprogramswherethefactorsrelatingtoteachersattitude,
suchasuncertainty,mayhindertheirapproachtoinclusiveeducation.Also,Lambeand
Bones(2006)
Educationalenvironmentalvariables:
Teachersandpreserviceteachersattitudesplaysanimportancerolewhendeveloping
andcreatinganopenlearninginclusiveenvironmentintheclassroomandschool
setting.AstheWorldHealthOrganisationstatedthatinordertoprovideequal
opportunitiesfortheparticipationofpeoplewithdisabilities,itisessentialand
necessarytocreateaphysicalenvironmentthatisaccessible(WHO,2001).Upon
examininganumberofresearchstudiesinrelationtoeducatorsattitudetowards
environmentalrelatedvariables,acommonvariablethatisconsistentlyfoundwasthat
therearemorefavourableattitudestowardsinclusivityiswhenthereisaavailabilityof
supportservicesthatisprovidedintheclassroom(Avramidis,E.,&Norwich,B.2010).
Supportinreferencetoinclusionincludesphysicalsupportsuchasteachingmaterials
andresources,andalsocollaborativeworkbetweenprofessionalsintheclassroom,
includinglearningsupportassistanceandspeechtherapist(Avramidis,etal.,2010).By

ECH333Assignment3EmileeTang

lookingatthestudybyAvramidis,BaylessandBurden(2000),itrevealedintheir
study,thefactorswithisabletomaketheparticipantsresponsetobemorepositive.56
teachersout,whichrepresented69.13%ofthetotalparticipants,reviewedtheyneed
moresupportintheirclassroomandthatthereisaneedforaspecialneedseducation
department(Avramidis,etal.,2000).32teachers,represented39.50%ofthe
participatesrevealedthatbybeingprovidedwithadequatecurriculummaterialsand
otherclassroomequipmentappropriatetotheneedsofstudentswithdisabilities,this
allowsthemtohaveamuchmorepositiveattitudetowardsinclusiveeducation
(Avramidis,etal.,2000.Pp.205).AlsobylookingatthestudybyLambeandBones,
2006,itsstudyhighlightedthatinordertostudytheenvironmentalrelatedvariablesthat
areabletofacilitateorcreatebarriersinstudentsparticipationsinclassroom.This
studyinvolved62preschoolteachersasparticipateswhoattendedaworkshoplocatedin
NorthernIreland.MethodusedwasconductedbytheEnvironmentalaccommodationof
school,whichcontainsquestionsaccessingtheaccommodationsnecessarytoenhance
participationofstudentswithavariousofdisabilityinthekindergartenenvironment
(Lambe,etal.,2000.Pp.92)

Conclusion:
Teachersaswellaspreserviceteachersattitudestowardsinclusivityarevitaltothe
successofinclusiveclassroomandpractices,astheyplayafundamentalrolein
implementinganopenandinclusiveclassroomenvironmentforallstudents.Itis
essentialforteacherstobeconfidentintheirabilitytomeetandmanagethediverse
needsofeverystudent,inparticularlywithstudentswhohaveemotionalbehavioural
disabilitiessuchasADHD.Alsowhenpreserviceteachersareundergoingtraining,itis
importantthattrainingneedstobeefficientbyprovidingteacherswithknowledgeabout
inclusion,inordertoachievesuccessfulinclusivepractices.

ECH333Assignment3EmileeTang

Reference:

Alghazo,E.M.,&NaggarGadd,E.E.(2004).GeneralEducationTeachersinthe
UnitedArabEmiratesandtheiracceptanceoftheinclusionofstudieswithdisabilities.
BritishJournalofSpecialEducation,31,9499.

Avramidis,E.,&Kalyva,E.(2007).Theinfluenceofteachingexperienceand
professionaldevelopmentonGreekteachersattitudestowardsinclusion.European
JournalofSpecialNeedsEducation,22(4),367389.
Avramidis,E.,Bayliss,P.,&Burden,P.(2000).AsurveyintoMainstream
TeachersAttitudesTowardstheInclusionofChildrenwithSpecialEducationalneeds
intheordinarySchoolinoneLocalEducationAuthority.EducationalPsychology,
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Brandes,J.,&Crowson,H.(2009).Predictingdispositionstowardinclusionsof
studentswitdisabilities:Theroleofconservativeideologyanddiscomfortwith
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Costello,S.,&Boyle,C.(2013).PreserviceSecondaryTeachersattitudes
TowardsInclusiveEducation.AustralianJournalofTeacherEducation,38(4).129143.
DeBoer,A.A.,Pijl,S.J.,&Minneart,(2011).Regularprimaryschoolteachers
attitudetowardsinclusiveeducation:Areviewoftheliterature:InternationalJournalof
InclusiveEducation,15(3).331353.

ECH333Assignment3EmileeTang

Gal,E.,Schreur,N.,&EngelYegar,B.(2010).Inclusionofchildrenwith
disabiltieis:Teachersattitudesandrequirementsforenvironmentalaccommodations.
InternationalJournalofspecialEducation.25(2).8999
Glaubman,R.,&Liftshitz,H.(2001).UltraorthodoxJewishteachersselfefficacy
andwillingnessforinclusionofstudentswithspecialneeds.EuropeanJournalofSpecial
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Hastings,P.R.,&Oakford,S.(2010).StudentTeachersAttitudesTowardsthe
InclusionofChildrenwithSpecialNeeds.EducationalPsychology:AnInternational
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10.1080/01443410303223
Lambe,J.,&Bones,R.(2006).Studentteachersattitudestoinclusion:implication
forInitialTeacherEducationinNorthernIreland.InternationaljournalofInclusive
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Monsen,J.J.,&Federickson,N.(2003).Teachersattitudestowards
mainstreamingandtheirpupilsperceptionsoftheirclassroomlearningenvironment.
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Rafferty,Y.,Boettcher,C.,&Griffin,K.W.(2001).Benefitsandrisksofreverse
inclusionforpreschoolerswithandwithoutdisabilities:ParentsPerspectives.
JournalofEarlyIntervention,24().266286

Youssef,K.M.,Hutchinson,G.,&Youssef,F.F.(2015).KnowledgeofandAttitude
TowardsADHDAmongTeachers.Doi:10.1177/2158244014566761