Exploring Perceptions of Inclusion with

Preservice Teachers in Poland

Janice Myck-Wayne, Ed.D., Melinda R. Pierson, Ph.D., and Kristin Stang, Ph.D. California State University, Fullerton

Kinga Ober, Ph.D. and Ania BasinskaAdam Mickiewicz University, Poznan, Poland

Providing quality inclusion for children with special needs is an ongoing and important area of research and policy. Included in The UNESCO (2009) Policy Guidelines on Inclusion in Education are two steps for moving policy towards inclusion forward: ◦ Helping teachers to understand their role in

education and that inclusion of diversity in the classroom is an opportunity, not a problem

◦ Reorienting teacher education

Importance of the Topic

This presentation will present research conducted jointly between special education faculty in the USA and faculty from a college of education in Poland.

The study sought to capture the perspectives of general education teachers’ attitudes towards inclusion in Poland.

The study was conducted to help understand the attitudes and knowledge of Polish teachers as the country moves to full mainstream programs for children with disabilities.

Rationale

The knowledge gained from the study is being used to develop to support the introduction of teaching children with special needs for the general education teacher training program in Poland.

In Poland, there are approximately 66,000 children identified as having special needs.

Roughly half of the identified children (n=35,027) attend “integrated” or mainstream schools (UNESCO, 2010/11).

This is critical work, because the understanding pre-service teachers’ beliefs about inclusion is important because positive attitudes towards inclusion are among the strongest predictors of the success of the inclusion reforms (Avramidis & Norwich, 2002; Forlin, 2010).

The Setting

The research project was developed using a modified survey of perception and attitudes towards people with disabilities (Ferko, Jung, & Kim, 2010) that was translated and then reviewed by two Polish faculty with expertise in education to increase the translation accuracy.

The survey included demographic items, a set of questions with a likert scale response, and yes/no questions related to attitudes about disabilities and inclusion, which included items regarding participant’s general knowledge about disabilities.

Project Design

The Survey

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1. Czy uważa Pan(i), że osoby niepełnosprawne powinny uczyć się w tej samej klasie co zdrowi uczniowie?

2. Czy uważa Pan(i), że osoby niepełnosprawne powinny uczyć się w klasie wyłącznie z innymi uczniami niepełnosprawnymi?

3. Czy uważa Pan(i), że osoby z niepełnosprawnością powinny uczyć się w odrębnej szkole przeznaczonej dla uczniów niepełnosprawnych?

4. Czy wierzy Pan(i), że osoby niepełnosprawne mogą czerpać korzyści z przebywania w tej samej klasie co uczniowie bez niepełnosprawności?

5. Czy uważa Pan(i), że niepełnosprawni uczniowie mogą zdobyć podstawowe umiejętności matematyczne?

6.Czy uważa Pan(i), że niepełnosprawni uczniowie mogą nauczyć się czytać samodzielnie?

7. Czy uważa Pan(i), że osoby niepełnosprawne są w stanie ukończyć szkołę średnią?

All 136 respondents were candidates in Polish teacher education programs and the participants filled out the survey in a paper format.

The surveys were completed and collected in Poland, the open-ended participant responses were translated by Polish faculty, and the hard copy surveys were sent to the United States for data analysis.

Participants

The majority of the respondents were living in a small town or city.

Approximately 50% of the respondents had children of their own.

Only 1 participant reported having a child with a disability.

All but one participant reported having seen a person with a disability.

82% reported knowing a person with a disability. Only 1 participant reported having a disability. 35% reported having a close friend or relative with

a disability.

Participant Demographics

Results of the study revealed that the majority of the respondents held positive perceptions of people with disabilities.

These preservice teachers clearly feel that

children with disabilities should be in traditional schools yet many commented about the lack of training and/or support.

Results

Participant comments regarding why they supported inclusion included the following responses about the rights of those with a disability:

◦ “All people have the right to inclusion.”◦ “Because inclusive education is more effective in

teaching and teach(es) the right moral attitudes.”◦ “Because otherwise it is discrimination.”◦ “It prevents social exclusion.”◦ “They have better educational and social chances.”

Results

The Polish preservice teachers generally indicated that they felt inclusion was a positive practice, yet some raised concerns about that it may depend upon the type or impact of that disability.

These participants responded with comments like “Yes, but not with every kind of disability” and “Yes, for mild disability. No for big disability.”

One participant indicated that “there are too many students in the classroom” and this would make it difficult to work individually with students.

Results

Many participants discussed the potential impact of inclusion on the students without disabilities:

“Because education in inclusion gives benefits to both groups of children.”

“ It teaches both groups to be tolerant to another person, to respect, understand. It shows that not all of us are the same.”

“They can learn a lot from each other.” “Because it leads to bigger tolerance and

empathy among health kids towards disabled kids.”

Results

Overall, 77.2% of the Polish preservice teacher participants agreed or strongly agreed that all students should be educated in the same classroom as their peers without a disability.

Only 10.3% of the respondents felt that the education of students with disabilities should occur in separate schools.

Results

As there is little published regarding the views of Polish preservice teachers regarding disabilities and inclusion, these initial results indicate a positive climate for students with disabilities as the country of Poland moves toward the increased “integration” of students with disabilities.

Additionally these preliminary findings highlight the need for changes in teacher preparation programs in order to help Polish preservice teachers feel better prepared to meet the demands of teaching in an inclusive environment.

Conclusions

Avramidis E. & Norwich B. (2002). Teachers’ attitudes towards integration/inclusion: A review of the literature. European Journal of Special Needs Education, 17(2), 129-147.

Ferko, D. J., Jung, W., & Kim, S. (2010). Korean Americans' Perceptions and Attitudes toward People with Disabilities: Determination of Inclusion Issues. Journal of International Special Needs Education, 13, 23-31.

Forlin, C. (2010), Developing and implementing quality inclusive education in Hong Kong: implications for teacher education. Journal of Research in Special Educational Needs, 10, 177–184.

UNESCO, I. (2010/11). World Data on Education. VII Ed. UNESCO. (2009). Policy Guidelines on Inclusion in Education.

References