Teachers' readiness to implement inclusive education in primary school classrooms in Selangor

Abstract

This study was aimed at investigating the readiness of teachers to implement inclusive education in primary school classrooms in the state of Selangor. For this purpose, their knowledge, beliefs, attitudes and confidence pertaining to teaching in an inclusive setting were examined. The researcher also delved into the teachers’ perceived school readiness to implement inclusive education. As the researcher was keen to examine the beliefs and attitudes of a great number of participants scattered over a large geographical area, it was necessary to use a questionnaire to collect the data because the questionnaire also consists of an open-ended section in which the teachers were given the opportunity to express their feelings freely about teaching children with learning disabilities in mainstream classrooms. The questionnaires were administered to a total of 1027 primary school teachers from 14 schools in the state of Selangor. Although only 925 of them participated and returned the completed questionnaires, this number is considered sufficient, as it is equivalent to a 90% return rate. Overall, the results of this study revealed that the teachers were knowledgeable about inclusive education, but they were not conversant with the needs of children with learning disabilities. With regard to their beliefs concerning inclusion, the majority of them anticipated the possibility of learning-disabled children being discriminated by teachers. It was also discovered that most of the teachers were not in favour of learning-disabled children being placed in mainstream classrooms and they were not mentally prepared to teach the children. In addition to those findings, it was also found that administrators of the schools in which the teachers teach, are quite accommodating and supportive of inclusive education as they constantly encourage the teachers to enhance their professional development. However, one of the obstacles to school readiness for inclusion as indicated by the teachers, is the lack of trained specialist teachers in schools who can help guide regular teachers through the teaching of learning-disabled children in mainstream classrooms. One the other hand, several implications emerged from the findings of this study. One of the major implications of inclusive education is that since the teachers were not in favour of the placement of learning-disabled children in inclusive classrooms, these children would not be able to receive equitable education as emphasised by the UNESCO. Last but not the least, as the teachers were not mentally ready to include learning-disabled children in mainstream classrooms, the children may not be able to learn comfortably alongside their abled peers. Thus, it is recommended that teachers be provided with more training in the field of inclusion to help them cope with learning-disabled children, better.