The success of inclusive education depends largely on teachers’ attitudes. At the same time, children without disabilities are more aware of differences between people and display more comfort around a person with a disability (Staub & Peck, 1994). The effects of attitude on preschool integration, Family and professional perspectives on early intervention: An exploration using focus groups, Mainstreaming in early childhood programs: Current status and relevant issues, Employment of educators in preschool mainstreaming: A survey of general early educators, Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education. The follow-up interviews were consulted to clarify the observation notes. Zoe and Mary felt it was important to keep parents involved in their child’s education, and knew that this was crucial to meet the needs of the students with and without disabilities. As indicated above, previous research has addressed inservice and preservice teachers’ attitudes toward inclusion in separate studies. Teacher-training programs should require students to investigate possible resources for children with disabilities and their families. Unfortunately, these parent involvement activities were not observed in her classroom. The inservice teachers viewed individual planning for all children as an important aspect of the inclusive classroom. The series of observations (6–8 hours in total) were detailed in descriptive objective written notes and were meant to capture the teacher in her natural environment (Marshall & Rossman, 1989). If they don't need OT maybe you can give us some ideas that would help with whatever is going on.” Our director is very knowledgeable and is very good to help with any problems. They were used as a data source to provide a framework from which to consider the teachers’ behaviors and actions in the classroom (Merriam, 1988). Then, based upon the responses to the statements, more probing questions were asked. Therefore, the teacher's attitude is a crucial element in the success of the inclusive classroom. Meaning that the results for this study were mixed. After all the information from the data sources were categorized by topics, a content analysis was conducted to extract similar themes and ideas within each teacher’s case (Patton, 1990). The same procedure was utilized with the emergent themes of the two preservice teachers to produce composite themes. First, a small number of participants (four) was used in this study and generalization of this information to other inclusive programs should be done with caution. Each of the five themes identified were supported by the data sources for each participant. Hence, Mary brought outside an adult-sized chair so Shannon could reach the table (observation). Over the past decade the fields of early childhood (EC) and early childhood special education (ECSE) have advocated including children with and without disabilities in the same classroom (DEC, 1994; Bredekamp & Copple, 1997). The data were examined, categorized, and consolidated using the evidence from all four data sources (Yin, 1994). The two preservice teachers who participated in this study were students enrolled in a Birth-Kindergarten (B-K) licensure program at a state university in the southeastern United States and were completing their student teaching semester. Nell felt that she had opportunities to be involved with families as she was invited to go on home visits, attend a parent meeting hosted by the parent coordinator, and sit in on IEP meetings. Given that research has suggested that the successful implementation of any inclusive policy is largely dependent on educators being positive about it, a survey was undertaken into the attitudes of student teachers toward the inclusion of children with special needs in the ordinary school. The individual interviews ranged in length from 1 to 1 1/2 hours and were conducted at the participant’s work place or student teaching placement. Teacher attitudes appear to be influenced by previous experiences in inclusive classrooms. The family did not have a telephone, so Mary went to Shannon's house to inquire about the child (follow-up interview). From this analysis, a description of each of the four teachers’ attitudes toward inclusion evolved based on the comparison of responses (initial interviews and follow-up interviews) and behaviors (observations and field notes). The two inservice teachers, Zoe and Mary, verbalized knowledge of available resources. These four data sources provided the basis for this case study. Evidence supports that to be effective, teachers need an understanding of best practices in teaching and of adapted instruction for SWD; but positive attitudes toward inclusion are also among the most important for creating an inclusive classroom that works (Savage & Erten, 2015). The affective component is based on the cognitive understanding of a disability, which can motivate people to get involved in working with a child who has a disability, or produce feelings that could cause them to exclude the child with a disability from typical activities. Note: I = Interview; O = Observation 1,2,3; FN = Field Notes 1,2,3. In coursework, students are provided strategies for teaching children with and without disabilities, and they are required to complete inclusive practica experiences. This qualitative study utilized open-ended initial interviews, observations with follow-up interviews, and observer field notes that were analyzed using content analysis with emergent themes from the different data sources. To learn about our use of cookies and how you can manage your cookie settings, please see our Cookie Policy. Based on Western studies, several factors influence Throughout this case study report the chain of evidence could be traced back to the original source. For the preservice teachers, having the hands-on experiences in an inclusive classroom was a definite benefit to their training program, as they were able to note what was presented to them in coursework and observe it firsthand in the inclusive classrooms. %�rP�������eH!����Q�_�/@�� 3 0 obj This study makes a contribution to the field of early childhood teacher education, but future studies are recommended to conduct more involved and in-depth inquiries with inservice and preservice teachers, especially to examine other factors that may contribute to the success of inclusive classrooms. While the teachers did implement inclusive practices, they indicated that appropriate preservice training, support from administrators, and support from resource personnel are important to provide a successful inclusive environment. By closing this message, you are consenting to our use of cookies. Furthermore, parents usually prefer a relationship with the lead teachers whom they view as the decision-makers in the classroom. The preservice teachers also need assistance in using the child's informal assessment to plan activities for children without disabilities. %���� However, neither observation-based planning nor other aspects of individual planning such as implementing the IEP goals and informal assessments of children were observed in their classrooms. Objective: Teachers' attitudes toward inclusion are often based on the practical implementation of inclusive education rather than a specific ideology and understanding of inclusiveness. During the initial interview, Nell described many aspects of parent involvement that she observed in her supervising teachers, but expressed that she was not able to plan or implement these parent involvement events herself. ), Was the children's involvement in the activities and interactions with each other typical of their behaviors? (interview). (In what ways?). In most instances the teachers were asked about specific circumstances that occurred during the observation, and each teacher expanded on her actions when requested. The B-K licensure program was inclusive, as it provided training for teaching children with and without disabilities. Registered in England & Wales No. For example, grade level, subject area or type of inclusion practice (full or partial). Guiding statements were used to help identify possible factors related to the teachers’ attitudes toward inclusion. The Sentiments, Attitudes, and Concerns about Inclusive Education–Revised (SACIE-R) scale was completed by 138 teacher candidates in a teacher preparation program in Bahrain Teachers College. However, the type and severity of the children’s disabilities affect teachers’ willingness to accommodate certain students and their confidence that they will effectively manage their classroom. The field notes from the observations were then analyzed to obtain clarity on the events that surrounded the teachers’ behaviors (Kleinman & Coop, 1993). Each phase of data analysis was designed to reduce the data into “manageable chunks” and allow interpretation of the data as the researcher formulated meaning and insights from the words and actions of the participants (Marshall & Rossman, 1989). The themes, (a) children with and without disabilities were involved in the classroom activities, (b) teacher attitudes appeared to be influenced by experiences in inclusive classrooms, (c) teachers addressed children's individual needs in the classroom activities, (d) teachers facilitated family involvement, and (e) resources and personnel were available in the classroom, were supported by multiple data sources that demonstrated that the teachers’ positive attitudes toward inclusion were reflected in their behaviors in the inclusive classroom. The interviews were analyzed for themes as they evolved from the written transcription. All four participants verbalized their positive attitude toward inclusion and felt it was an optimal environment for children with and without disabilities. education teachers regarding inclusive education, in an urban Pennsylvania school district, the Chester Upland School District. Student grade level and severity of disability have been found to influence teachers’ attitudes toward inclusion. All of these requirements would strengthen the preservice teachers' knowledge of resources and hopefully help them to understand the importance of various resources to the success of the inclusive classroom. This would give the students a chance to view the child’s program from another perspective, and help inform the preservice teacher of the therapists’ role in an inclusive classroom. Zoe said. Four data sources were used for this study: (1) initial individual interviews of two preservice and two inservice teachers, (2) extensive observations in the inclusive classrooms of the four teachers, (3) field notes of the researcher based on the classroom observations, and (4) follow-up interviews after each observation of the classroom teacher. (�M� ��\�@��\�3�C�$4��Mg�>�$���y���qa��(~YK���r��t�ct; These questions helped to develop and formulate a picture of the teacher’s attitude toward inclusion as it was exhibited in her behaviors in the classroom. Blancher and Turnbull (1982) confirm this information. Shannon (a girl who had no use of her legs) said she wanted to play in the water table. or supportive attitudes towards inclusive education for children with special educational needs. We can call and say, “Please come by and look at this child. Triangulation was used to compare the emergent themes from the different data sources. This triangulation of data sources increased the match between the emergent themes, which related to the research questions: What are the factors that influence teachers’ attitudes toward inclusion, and how were teachers’ attitudes toward inclusion demonstrated by their behaviors in the classroom? Yin (1994) states that for data collection to be useful, multiple sources of evidence (two or more) must converge on the same set of findings. As mentioned, the data sources (initial interviews, observations, field notes, and follow-up interviews) were analyzed separately for each participant in the following sequence: (1) All four data sources were analyzed individually, (2) similar ideas were placed into broad categories noting the source (initial interview or follow-up interview, observation, field notes), (3) specific categories were defined based upon material content, and (4) categories from all four data sources were refined and reorganized compositely. The theme of family involvement for the preservice teachers emerged from their interviews; however, there were no observations or field notes to support their views or ideas. Early childhood teachers may express positive views about inclusive practices but are the practices implemented in their classrooms? In several observations, they used jot notes (observational notes they took which described the behaviors and interactions of the children) and Individualized Education Plan (IEP) goals to meet the individual needs of the children with and without disabilities. Based upon the responses to the statements, more opportunities could be provided to preservice teachers ’ use of and! Mary both expressed that working with children who have disabilities ( 1982 ) implications for and... Individually with the mood and intent of the inclusive classroom the four and. Acceptance by typically developing peers ( Odom & Diamond, 1998 ) described to the,. 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