readiness of general education teachers in handling students with special needs in an inclusive...

1

Readiness of General Education Teachers in Handling Students with

Special Needs in an Inclusive Setting

James Carlo L. Arville

Elma Grace L. Domingo

Alvin Gerald O. Keyser

Edliene Angelica S. Mier

Judy Ann G. Pateña Far Eastern University

Abstract:

The purpose of this research is to determine the readiness of the general

education teachers of students with special needs that are included in a regular

classroom set-up. Furthermore, another goal of this is to come up with a review

on related studies and literatures to enlighten the minds of the teachers and the

school administrators on the preparedness of general educators in handling

students with exceptionalities. This also focused on the factors of teaching-

learning process that may affect the inclusion set-up and academic performance

of these students with special needs.

Introduction

It is important to study the readiness of general education teachers in handling students with

exceptionalities to know if they can effectively give the appropriate needs of these students

(Dingle et al., 2004). In doing so, these teachers facilitate the inclusion of children with special

needs towards their academic and adaptive progress (Gal et al., 2010).

Readiness of General Education Teachers in Handling Students with Special Needs in an Inclusive Setting

2013

2

The readiness of general education teachers in facilitating inclusion services can depend on his

collaboration with the parents, special education teacher, school administrators and other

professionals (Refice, 2006). With collaboration, the regular teachers will be able to gain crucial

information about the needs of students with special needs. They will also be able to come up

with teaching and behavior management strategies that are essential to the progress of these

students.

Teachers need to adapt in the dynamic laws and support of the government that are relevant to

education because it can change the curriculum of schools (Holdheide et al,. 2008). When there

is a change in curriculum, there is a big possibility that the teachers will need to also change

their teaching strategies, and they also need to get new resources and materials. Available

resources and materials that can help in handling students with special needs are also a key

factor in the readiness of teachers. They need enough resources and materials to accommodate

the students with exceptionalities (Kohanek & Buka, 1999). Problems such as lack of resources

and large number of students in the inclusive classroom can stun the readiness of teachers

(Eloff & Kguet, 2007).

Courses offered in teacher education institutions that the general education teachers enrolled

in are also important factors in handling students with special needs that are included in a

regular classroom. The teacher will be more ready to handle these kinds of students if they

received topics and courses that are related to special education (Winn & Blanton, 2005). They

should receive not only introductions about concepts related to special education but also

trainings and topics about strategies in handling these students (Turner, 2003).


2013

3

Method

This is a descriptive research which presents the collected review of related studies. It is a

scientific method which involves gathering data relevant to the research. This design helps to

provide answers to the questions of who, what, when, where, and how associated with a

particular research problem; it cannot conclusively ascertain answers to why. Furthermore, it is

used to obtain information concerning the current status of the phenomena and to describe

"what exists" with respect to variables or conditions in a situation (USC Libraries, 2013). On the

part of the researchers, they used this design in order to determine and describe the current

readiness of general education teachers in handling students with disabilities in a regular

classroom.

Attitudes towards Inclusion

The special education teachers have a significantly greater positive attitudes toward inclusion

than general education teachers and elementary teachers have the most willing to

accommodate students with special needs in the general educational setting (Alahbabi, 2009).

For the reason that the special education teachers have taken more courses related to special

education, they understand more the situation of students with special needs. The general

education teachers have a negative outlook when it comes to the academic progress of these

students with special needs.

The perception of regular classroom teachers towards inclusion depends on their experience

when they are in the field (Leatherman, 2007). If they have positive experiences in teaching,


2013

4

they will have positive perceptions in handling inclusion class. On the other hand, negative

experiences will lead to negative perceptions. The attitude of teachers toward inclusion

depends on his or her demographic profile. Female teachers have more positive attitude in

inclusion than male teachers. Marital status also affects their perspective towards inclusion. If

the teacher is single, he is more likely to have a positive outlook in handling students with

exceptionalities.

The more experienced an educator is in an inclusive classroom, the more positive view one will

have (Praisner, 2003). Regardless of the teacher’s positive or negative experience in inclusion,

as long as the teacher has undergone a lot of experience he will have positive views.

The teachers’ attitudes towards inclusion of children with disability are affected by the

teachers’ personal characteristics and with related to accommodations they consider necessary

for admission of such children with special needs. (Gal, Scheur, Yeger, 2010). Special education

teachers have more patience than general education teachers. The students will be affected by

the changes occurred in the teacher’s behavior. The changes in the behavior of the teachers

have different result to the students. The result can either be negative or positive depending on

the students’ perspective.

Teachers’ attitudes towards student with disability depended on a great deal on the type and

severity of the disability. Educators showed they were more accepting of students with learning

disabilities and less accepting of students with intellectual disability (Alghazo, 2002). The more

severe the disability is, the more the student is difficult to handle. Henceforth, the teacher will


2013

5

gain a negative outlook on teaching the student with disability. Even though these students

needed more attention because of the severity of their disability, the teachers tend to be less

accommodating toward these students.

Most researchers agree that the most important condition for successful inclusion of students

with special needs in the regular classroom is a change from negative to positive attitude of

regular school and regular classroom (Samuel et.al, 1991). One of the main keys for an inclusive

setting is to conduct an intervention to the regular teachers who have negative attitudes or

outlooks and change them into positive.

General Educators and the Process of Collaboration

One of the responsibilities of general education teachers is to collaborate (Refice, 2006). They

need to collaborate with parents, special education teachers, school administrators, and other

professionals with special expertise on students’ disabilities. With collaboration, the teachers

will gain important information that they need to know about their students with special needs

in order to apply the appropriate teaching strategies and classroom management that are

essential for an effective inclusion.

Another method to integrate inclusion into the classroom is by collaborative teaching. This

requires a general and a special education teacher to work together inside or outside of a

general education classroom to meet the special needs of an exceptional student (Hallahan &

Kauffman, 2003). Special education teacher is more knowledgeable in handling students with

special needs than the regular education teachers. He can share strategies and other


2013

6

information to the general education teacher to provide a quality education in an inclusive

setting. Collaborative teaching can increase the level of attention or focus in teaching the

students with special needs that are included in the general education classroom.

Collaboration between those who are mainly involved in facilitating the inclusion setting is

necessary. A positive collaboration between these individuals can maximize students’

performance in the school.

When integrating inclusion into the classroom one important aspect is to keep the parents

involved in students’ education (Refice, 2006). Parents are the most knowledgeable individuals

when it comes to their children. That is why regular classroom teachers must work in

partnership with them to get crucial information in educating the students. This information

can be about the child’s needs, accommodations and other services relevant to the disability of

the child.

Preparation for Inclusion

Teachers prepare to deliver inclusive services to students with disabilities is increasingly

important because of changes in law and policy emphasizing student access to, and

achievement in, the general education curriculum (Holdheide et al., 2008). The implementation

of law is dynamic, whenever there is a change of the laws associating with education, every

teacher is affected. They must change their strategies to meet the demands of the laws.

Separate general and special education teacher preparation program and services contribute to

the barriers experienced with inclusion (Winn & Blanton, 2005). There might be contrasting


2013

7

ideas between these two professionals in ways of handling students with special needs which

can greatly affect the students’ academic performance. Their different views can widen their

capacities and strategies in handling these students if they share information and knowledge

relevant to the cases of these students with disability.

Teacher preparations and inclusive services attempt to inform general education teachers on

issues pertaining to special education have generally involved a single, required, introductory-

level special education course (Turner, 2003). Such courses usually provided information

concerning legal requirements and eligibility classification regarding the 13 categories of

disability (Winn & Blanton, 2005) but often did not provide information on successful

instructional strategies for students with disability. Courses offered in the undergraduate level

in teacher education mainly focuses on the content of the introduction, background, theories,

procedures, and definitions. And not mainly on the pedagogies that can be used in inclusion.

Trainings about special education and inclusion are important factors in gaining knowledge on

how to properly handle students with special needs. Several teachers have little trainings,

seminars, and experiences in teaching students with disabilities. They are not aware of the

research on best practice as it applies to students with disabilities. And often hold stereotypical

views of what students can and cannot do (Wiley, 1998).

Resources and the Learning Environment

Instructional resources are essential to the readiness of teachers in handling students with

special needs. General education teachers need enough resources to accommodate the


2013

8

students with exceptionality (Kohanek & Buka, 1999). The adequacies of resources, such as

materials, equipment, and physical accommodations can result to a successful inclusion

(Leatherman, 2007).

A high number of students in the classroom can make it difficult for teachers to adequately

teach in inclusive classrooms (Eloff & Kguet, 2007). It is difficult to handle an over populated

classroom specially when there are students with special needs that are included in the

classroom. Because of the high number of students in the classrooms, the teachers also

experience difficulties in giving individual attention to both regular students and students with

exceptionalities.

Conclusion

This study focuses on the readiness of general educators in handling students with special

needs. Generally, majority of the general education teachers that are facilitating inclusion in

the regular classroom have little or no background about special education and different

disabilities. To increase the knowledge about the needs of students with exceptionalities, the

teachers should participate in numerous seminars, workshops and trainings (Johnstone, 2010).

The teachers’ gender is also a factor in handling students in the inclusive setting. Various

researchers have pointed out that female teachers have a more positive view when it comes to

facilitating inclusion rather than male teachers (Fakolade et al., 2009). Furthermore, the more

experience the teacher has in handling students with special needs in a regular classroom, the

more positive his outlook will be about educating these students, and also on the students’


2013

9

academic progress (Praisner, 2003). Several studies also confirmed that the teachers’ attitudes

towards student with special needs are affected by the type and severity of the disability

(Alghazo, 2002).

Recommendation

The researchers recommend that general education teachers must be open to involve

themselves into various professional trainings, seminars and workshops. It is to increase their

knowledge and improve or develop their skills and abilities in handling students with special

needs in regular classrooms. In addition to this, they should engage themselves to enroll in

educational institutions to get a higher degree. These educational institutions must provide

them proper trainings such as hands-on experience in handling students with special needs.

On the other hand, teachers must have a positive outlook on the development of skills and

enhancement of knowledge of students with special needs. To handle students with special

needs, teachers should have a positive perception in order for their approach to produce

effective outcomes. Furthermore, for them to perceive inclusion positively, they should also

have positive experiences in engaging with individuals with disabilities.

References

Alahbai, A. (2009). K-12 Special and General Education Teachers’ Attitudes toward the Inclusion

of Students with Special Needs in General Education Classes in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

International Journal of Special Education


2013

10

Ali, M., Mustapha, R., Jelas, Z. (2006). An empirical study on teachers’ perceptions towards

inclusive education in Malaysia.

Ajuwon, P. M., Lechtenerger, D., Griffin-Shirley, N., Sokolosky, S., Zhou, L., & Mullins, F. (2012).

General Education Pre- Service Teachers Perceptions of Including Students with Disabilities in

their Classrooms. International Journal of Special Education

Astha, Sushma, S., & Smriti, B. (2011). In-sevice Primary Teachers’ Attitude towards Inclusion:

Survey Results from District Kurukshetra(HARYANA). International Journal of Multidisciplinary

Research, pp. 192-197

Brackenreed, Darlene (2011). Inclusive education: identifying teachers’ strategies for coping

with perceived stressors in inclusive classrooms.

Champit, B., Horlified, M., & Nicholas, Joe. (2004). Inclusion Rates as Impacted by the

Perceptions of Teachers’ Attitudes, SES, and District Enrollment. National Forum of Special

Education Journal-Electronic

Cheng, Y. (2009) Perceptions of Inclusion by Kindergarten Teachers and Parents in Tawain. pp.

259-29

Elzein, H. L., (2009). Attitudes toward inclusion of children with special needs in regular schools

(A case study from parents' perspective). pp. 164-172

Fakolade, O.A., Adeyinka, S. O., Tlla, A., (2009). Attitude of teachers towards the

inclusion of special needs children in general education classroom: the case of teachers in some

selected schools in Nigeria.


2013

11

Gal, E., Schreur, N., & Engel-Yeger, B. (2010). Inclusion of Children with Disabilities: Teachers’

Attitudes and Requirements for Environmental Accommodations. International Journal of

Special Education

Holdheide, L. R., & Reschly, D. J., (2008). Teacher Preparation to Deliver Inclusive

Services to Students with Disabilities.

Johnstone, J., (2010). Inclusive education Policy Implementation: Implications for teacher

workforce development in Trinidad and Tobago. International Journal of Special Education

Leatherman, J. M., & Niemeyer, J. A. (2005). Teachers’ attitudes toward inclusion:

Factors affecting classroom practices. Journal of Early Childhood Teacher

Education, 26, 23-36

Loiacono, Vito & Valenti, V. (2010). General Education Teachers Need to be Prepared to Co-

teach the Increasing Number of Children with Autism in Inclusive Settings. International Journal

of Special Education

Mcleskey. J. & Waldron N. L., (2002). Inclusion and School change: teacher perceptions

regarding curricular and instructional adaptation. pp. 41-54

Norman, K. (1998). Teaching Students with Disabilities in Inclusive Science Classrooms: Survey

Results. Science Education, 82, 127- 146

Press, L. K., Foote, C. J., Rinaldo, V. J., (2010). Inclusion classrooms and teachers: a survey of

current practices.

Refice, A. (2006). Inclusion in the Classroom: Finding What Works for General Education

Teachers.


2013

12

Sharma D., (2012). Attitude of Regular Elementary School Teachers towards Inclusive

Education. Indian Streams Research Journal

Talmor, R., Reiter, S., Feigin N. (2005). Factors relating to regular education teacher burnout in

inclusive education. pp. 215-229