TOWARDS AN INCLUSIVE TOMORROW April 5th - 7th, 2013

Blind People’s Association (BPA)Jagdish Patel Chowk

Surdas Marg, Vastrapur Ahmedabad-380015

Blind People’s Association (BPA) & Sense International, India (SII)

2ndJoint Asian Conference of ICEVI & DbI

Teacher Concerns About Including Students with Disabilities in Regular Education Programs in Ahmedabad

Dr. Rina Shah, Founder & Director, Learning Links Educare, Mumbai

&

Dr. Ishwar Desai, Director & Senior Inclusive Education Consultant,Desai Consulting Pty Limited, Melbourne, Australia

Former Head: Unit of Disability Studies & Inclusion, The University of Melbourne, Australia

SECTION A: INTRODUCTION

SECTION B: RATIONALE AND AIMS OF THE STUDY

SECTION C: METHODOLOGY

SECTION D: MAJOR FINDINGS

SECTION E: IMPLICATIONS & RECOMMENDATIONS

STRUCTURE OF THE PRESENTATION

SECTION A

INTRODUCTION

An emerging trend…….

Internationally & in India in recent decades has been the inclusion of children with disabilities…

Including the visually impaired in regular schools

INTRODUCTION Education For All

Teachers’ Attitudes towards Inclusive Movement

Regular Teachers’ Preparedness

Systemic Barriers

Barriers arising from Societal Values & Beliefs

Compliance with Policies

Responsibility for Education

Parental Resistance

Lack of Skills among Teachers

INTRODUCTIONTeacher Concerns

SECTION B

Rationale and Aims of the Study

A review of the literature revealed that there is very little known about the concerns of teachers toward the inclusion of students with disabilities in India…….

And in so far as Ahmedabad was concerned

There appeared to be no studies undertaken on this issue

RATIONALE AND AIMS OF THE STUDYReview of Literature

The present study was designed:

To identify the concerns of primary school teachers in Ahmedabad regarding the inclusion of students with disabilities into their regular classroom programs

To determine if significant relationships exist

between these teachers’ concerns about

inclusive education and selected factors in their

personal and professional backgrounds and

experiences

RATIONALE AND AIMS OF THE STUDY Aims of the Study

Teachers’ Background Variables Personal Characteristics

Gender Age Caste

Educational Background Concerns Academic Qualifications Professional Teaching Qualifications about Qualifications in Special Education

Work Experience Integrated Total Number of Years of Teaching Experience Education Length of Experience in Teaching Students with Disabilities

Class Size Number of Students in Class (Class Size) Number of Students with Disabilities in Class

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TEACHERS’ BACKGROUND VARIABLES AND

THEIR CONCERNS ABOUT INCLUSIVE EDUCATION

Personal CharacteristicsGenderAge Caste

Educational Background Academic Qualifications Professional Teaching Qualifications Qualifications in Special Education

Work ExperienceTotal Number of Years of Teaching ExperienceLength of Experience in teaching students with

Disabilities

Class SizeNumber of Students in Class (Class size)Number of Students with Disabilities in Class

Concerns

About

Inclusive Education

The present study was designed:

To identify strategies which these teachers perceive could be adopted by key

stakeholders to address teacher concerns regarding the inclusion of students

with disabilities into their regular classroom programs

RATIONALE AND AIMS OF THE STUDY Aims of the Study

SECTION C

Methodology

A sample of 560 primary school teachers working in inclusive regular classroom programs in Ahmedabad, Gujarat was selected to participate in the study

A cluster sampling method was used to select the subjects

se teachers were dawn from 98 schools

The selected schools were situated in the six administrative zones managed by the Municipal School Board and the Education Department

METHODOLOGY Subjects and Setting

Three-Part Survey Questionnaire

Part I: Background Information of Teachers

Part II: Concerns about Inclusive Education – Gujarati (CIE-G) Scale

&

Open-ended section for ‘Additional Concerns’

Part III: Strategies to Address Teacher Concerns Regarding Inclusive

Education

METHODOLOGYResearch Instrumentation

SECTION D

MAJOR FINDINGS

The composition of item loadings clearly indicated that the emerging dimensions were:

Factor I (Concerns about Academic Achievement and Standards)

Factor II (Concerns about Infrastructural Resources)

Factor III (Concerns about Self-Efficacy)

Factor IV Concerns about Motivation)

Factor V (Concerns about Social Acceptance)

The factors were named according to the nature of items loading on each factor

MAJOR FINDINGS - 1

Female teachers

Teachers without a special education qualification

Teachers who taught in classes

that had over 20 students

EXHIBITED

A significantly higher level of concern about inclusive education than their

counterparts

MAJOR FINDINGS - 2

On the whole, teachers had the highest concern for the factor of:

Infrastructural Resources’ (financial, human and physical resources)

necessary for teaching students with

disabilities in their classes

And the teachers had the

least concern for the factor of: ‘Social Acceptance’ of students

with disabilities (acceptance by

non-disabled students and their parents

of students with disabilities)

MAJOR FINDINGS - 3

Teachers’ Background Variables Personal Characteristics

Gender Age Caste

Educational Background Concerns Academic Qualifications Professional Teaching Qualifications about Qualifications in Special Education

Work Experience Integrated Total Number of Years of Teaching Experience Education Length of Experience in Teaching Students with Disabilities

Class Size Number of Students in Class (Class Size) Number of Students with Disabilities in Class

MAJOR FINDINGS - 4Relationship between Teachers’ Background Variables and their Concerns about Inclusive Education

Concerns

About

Inclusive Education

The major additional concerns, beyond those covered in the CIE-G Scale, regarding inclusive education for most teachers were:

lack of training in the implementation of inclusive education

negative attitudes of school staff and community

toward students with disabilities

inappropriateness of the conventional curriculum

and teaching methods to meet the educational

needs of students with disabilities

MAJOR FINDINGS - 5

A number of strategies were suggested by teachers……

Which could be adopted by various key stakeholders to alleviate teacher concerns regarding inclusive education

The most frequent suggestions

were made for the…… School Management Council,

Ahmedabad

Municipal Primary School Board

Parents/ Guardians of

Students with Disabilities

MAJOR FINDINGS - 6

The teachers’ main suggestions for the School Management Council, Ahmedabad, were as follows:

financial assistance for teaching

resources & specialized personnel

support

provision of on-going training

to teachers for resolving problems

that they might encounter

Provision of various incentives,

activities & other measures directed at school

administrators, teachers and students with disabilities

MAJOR FINDINGS - 7

The major suggestions put forth by teachers for the Municipal School Board were: training of teaching and non-teaching staff to implement inclusive

education programs

financial assistance for educational materials and equipment and special facilities necessary for implementing inclusive education programs

to reduce the non-teaching workloads of teachers

MAJOR FINDINGS - 8

The most important suggestions that teachers

proposed for parents/guardians of students with disabilities were:

regular meetings with teachers

full support and cooperation to school

teachers

constantly encourage their child and

support learning at home

MAJOR FINDINGS - 9

SECTION E

IMPLICATIONS

&

RECOMMENDATIONS

The study cited in this presentation identified a number of concerns teachers have regarding the implementation of effective inclusive education in their State

Key Stakeholders

An opportunity to understand

Ideas for remedial action

IMPLICATIONS & RECOMMENDATIONSKey Stakeholders

Ideas for remedial action, such as, but not limited to the following…….

Restructuring schools for implementing inclusive education practices

IMPLICATIONS & RECOMMENDATIONSRestructuring Schools

Ideas for remedial action, such as, but not limited to the following……. Garnering support of:

- policy-makers

- state officials

- school administrators

- school principals

For effective implementation of inclusive education

IMPLICATIONS & RECOMMENDATIONSSupport of Key Officials

Ideas for remedial action, such as, but not limited to the following…….

Providing adequate training of regular classroom teachers

both at the pre-service and in-service levels

so that they have the necessary

knowledge, skills and attitude

to address the needs of students

with disabilities in their classrooms

IMPLICATIONS & RECOMMENDATIONSTeacher Training

Ideas for remedial action, such as, but not limited to the following…….

Providing adequate funds for:

- Special educators

- Teacher aides

- Para-professional staff

- Purchasing appropriate

teaching aids and materials

IMPLICATIONS & RECOMMENDATIONS

Para-professional Support

“The challenge now is to formulate requirements of a school for all

All children and young people of the world have the right to education

It is not our Education Systems that have a right to certain

types of Children

It is the School System of a country that

must be adjusted to meet the needs of all children”.

- Mr. Bengt Lindquist

(Salamanca Conference on Special Needs, 1994)

CONCLUSION

IT IS NOT A DISABILITY

THAT MAKES A PERSON DEVIANT

BUT

SOCIETY’S INTERPRETATION OF DISABILITY

WE EXCLUDE:Because we don’t understand

WE DON’T UNDERSTANDBecause of Limited Contact

WE LACK CONTACT:Because we exclude

WE EXCLUDE:Because………