FACULTY OF EDUCATION

& SOCIAL WORK

Examination of Teacher Attitudes Towards Education of Students with Disability in the Mainstream Classroom

International Exhibition and Forum for Education

Riyadh International Convention and Exhibition Center,

Saudi Arabia

3-6 February, 2014

David Evans PhD | Associate Professor of Special Education

david.evans@sydney.edu.au

› Ministry of Education, Saudi Arabia

› My colleagues:

- Dr Ilektra Spandagou

- Mrs Cathy Little

› The teachers from whom I learn so much:

- Muhmoud Muhanna, Nora Alharthi

Thank you very much!!

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Aims

› Examine the concept of attitudes

› Examine and interrogate attitudes with regards to the

education of students with disability

› Highlight the implications for changing attitudes, and

educational outcomes for all students

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An Attitude …

› … represents an evaluative integration of cognitions and

affects experienced in relation to an object. Attitudes are

the evaluative judgments that integrate and summarize

these cognitive/affective reactions. These evaluative

abstraction vary in strength, which in turn has

implications for persistence, resistance, and attitude-

behavior consistency (Crano & Prislin, 2006, p. 347)

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Object – my attitude?

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Object - attitude?

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Object – Attitude?

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Model of Attitudes

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Attitudes

Cognitive

Component

Affective

Component

Behavioural

Component

(De Boer et al., 2011)

What does a teacher think when they hear?

- ADHD

- Autism

- Intellectual disability

- Prader-Willi Syndrome

- Down syndrome

- Hearing impairment

- Behaviour disorder

- Mental health disorder

- Hypomelanosis of ito

- Dyslexia

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“I have just enrolled in your class, a student with a diagnosis of:

Model of Attitudes

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Attitudes

Cognitive Component

Affective Component

Behavioural Component

(De Boer et al., 2011)

Current context:

We are catering for more students

with these diagnoses in our

regular classrooms – inclusive

education.

Historical Reminders

› Salamanca Statement

- …. every child has a fundamental right to education … (p. viii)

- … regular schools with this inclusive orientation are the most

effective means of combating discriminatory attitudes. (p. ix)

› Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disability

- States Parties recognize the right of persons with disabilities to

education.

- States Parties shall ensure that: Persons with disabilities are not

excluded from the general education system on the basis of

disability … (Article 24)

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Inclusion

› “… the process of educating children with disabilities in

the regular education classrooms of their neighbourhood

schools – the schools they would attend if they did not

have a disability – and providing them with the necessary

services and support” [Rafftery, Boettcher & Griffin, 2001, p.266]

› “Inclusion starts in our minds and hearts …” [Kasinskaite

Buddeberg, 2014]

› Inclusive education … an operationalisation of the concept of

inclusion … people are signficant factor in this process … but we can

be one of a number of barriers that impact the quality of education

outcomes for all students

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Convention the Rights of Persons with Disability

› Recognizing that disability is an evolving concept and

that disability results from the interaction between

persons with impairments and attitudinal and

environmental barriers that hinders their full and effective

participation in society on an equal basis with others.

› Consider features of our environment:

- Building structures

- Information and Communication Technologies

- Web access

- School curriculum and environment

Further …

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Key Players in Inclusive Education

› Teachers

› Administrators

› Learning support personnel

› Students

- Students with disabilities

- Students without disability

› Families and community

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Attitudes of Youth/Students

› Key features in development of attitudes in youth:

- influence of “exposure”

- “… mere exposure research outlines the ways through

which attitudes can form due to affect alone, without

reliance on cognition regarding an objects attributes.” [Olson & Kendrick, 2008, p. 116-7]

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Model of Youth Attitudes

Family

Member

Friend

Know in

School

Gender

(Female)

Exposure

Perceived

Capability

Behavioural

Intentions:

School

Academic

Inclusion

Nonacademic

Inclusion Impact of

Inclusion

[Siperstein et al., 2007, p.437]

Attitudes of Youth/Students

› Key features in development of attitudes in youth:

- influence of “exposure”

- perceived capacity

- non-academic inclusion

- academic inclusion

- influence of the school setting

› Evidence-based practices

- Early intervention

- Peer support and peer tutoring

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Family and Community

› Key partners in the education of all students; especially

students with disability and special needs

› Parents and families need to work hard to support the

needs of their child with a disability

› Have things changed?

- “I mean … it was hard going, but it was worth it.” [Mother of a 40 year

old women with an moderate intellectual disability; Strnadova & Evans, 2013]

- Parents of young children with hearing impairments feel

“abandoned”, “isolation” and “disconnected from their child” [mothers

of infants with hearing impairments; Landrigan & Evans, in prep]

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Learning Support Personnel

› Special education teachers: dramatic shift in their roles

- Active role in working in the classroom

- Less of a role taking students out of the classroom

› Teaching assistants: their role under scrutiny

- Voice of students indicate they do not want them

- Cost benefit is being questioned

- … yet, teachers are very dependent on them to deliver

education programs

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School Leaders

› Leadership role is critical to successful educational

outcomes

- Leaders of pedagogy

- Modeling a positive attitude and setting of high expectations

- Establishing school wide processes to cater for student diversity

- Building inclusive environments, resourcing, assessment and

monitoring of student progress

› Evidence-based practice

- Three tier model to supporting intervention

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Continuum of Assessment and Intervention

Tier 3 [5%] Intensive

Individualised Intervention with Frequent

Progress Monitoring

Tier 2 [15%] Targeted

Small group Intervention with

Progress Monitoring

Tier 1 [80%] Universal

Evidence-based Curriculum

and Screening [3 time/year]

[Riley-Tillman & Burn, 2009, p.9]

Attitudes of Teachers: Australia

› Teacher preparation in Australia

- All teachers undertake an initial degree to work in

regular education classrooms

- All pre-service teachers complete a mandatory unit of study in special and inclusive education

› Special education teachers in Australia are required to

have a pre-service degree in regular education

- This is not the case in all education sectors

internationally

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Attitudes of Teachers: Australia

› Attitudes of pre-service teachers at the University of

Sydney

- Pre-service teachers attitudes can be enhanced through

a mandatory unit of study (Spandagou, Little & Evans, 2009)

- Little is known about what happens in the first years (e.g.,

in-school support, ongoing professional learning)

› Neutral attitudes of teachers: concerns about resourcing,

professional knowledge (Westwood & Graham, 2003)

› Short term effects of special education retraining programs

- Washout effect in regards to attitudes and practice (Smyth-

King, 2014)

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Attitudes of Teachers: Regional

› Key findings: Jordan (Muhanna, 2012)

- Teachers surveyed on their attitudes towards educating

students with autism in regular education primary

schools (reg educ: 120; spec educ: 120)

- Neutral attitudes across teacher training, experience,

and gender

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Attitudes of Teachers: Local

› Key findings: Saudi Arabia (Alharthi, 2014)

- Survey of middle school regular and special education

teachers attitudes to inclusion to inclusion of stduents

with lerning disability in the regular classroom; specific

focus on the role of collaboration

- Initial results indicate:

- special education teachers general atttitudes were positive

- regular education teachers genereal attitudes neutral

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Teacher Attitudes

› Key findings: Saudi Arabia (Alharthi, 2014)

› Qualitative responses:

› "I prefer to work with normal students and special ed. teachers work with those students separately” [regular education teacher]

› “… as a special educator it is hard to teach students with LDs in middle schools or support them to access the curriculum because we are not experts in math or Arabic language.” [special education

teacher]

› “… general ed. teachers have enough work … we do not need more

work!” [regular education teacher]

› “… courses and workshops about collaboration and effective teaching strategies for students with LDs …” [special education teacher]

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Model of Attitudes: Reflection

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Attitudes

Cognitive Component:

[e.g., teacher knowledge]

Affective Component:

[e.g., exposure]

Behavioural Component:

[e.g., engagement]

(De Boer et al., 2011)

Changing Attitudes

› Teachers are heavily socialised by their experiences

- Changing teacher attitudes requires a concerted effort by all

- Teachers hold high expectations for all students

› Building professional knowledge and understanding

- Education planning built on educational, social and personalised

need; access to the regular school curriculum

- Promoting and supporting use of evidence-based practices

- Flexible planning, resourcing, pedagogies and assessment (e.g.,

universal design for learning, use of ICT’s)

› Development and modelling of exemplar inclusive

educational practices relevant to contexts

- Increase exposure to educational exemplars (e.g., highly proficient

teachers, use of web-based exemplars, personalised learning)

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Changing Attitudes

› Address teacher training

- Special education teachers need to be knowledgeable of regular

education curriculum and practices

- Regular education teachers need access to knowledge of practices

that promote access for all students

› Research with schools and teachers highlighting the

benefits of inclusive education outcomes for all

- Reported in a number of formats relevant to the consumer

- Highlight evidence-based practices

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Final Word

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