Survey of South African expatriate teacher attitudes towards inclusive education in private and international schools in Oman

Abstract

Inclusive education is an international philosophy that places emphasis on the provision of special education services to students with special learning needs within regular classrooms. Teachers, regardless of where in the world they are, require positive attitudes to engage in discussions, adapt curricula, develop strategies and acquire the necessary knowledge and skills for the implementation of inclusionary practices. The aim and rationale for this study was to explore the attitudes of South Africans as expatriates in a foreign country (Oman) at schools where inclusion was recently implemented but where little research was conducted in the area. In addition, the purpose was also to gain more knowledge about the elements that may influence teacher attitudes towards inclusion. A quantitative approach was employed and an online questionnaire was used to obtain data. The small sample (N=35) limited findings to descriptive statistics only. The study revealed that most teachers held positive attitudes towards the fundamental principles of inclusive education but teachers held negative attitudes towards the practical implementation of inclusion within classrooms. Teachers who received training were more positive to supporting inclusion. Male teachers expressed greater negativity than female teachers towards inclusionary practices in schools but then male teachers were more supportive and willing to undertake training, engage in teacher support and work collaboratively. Teachers teaching older groups of students appear to be less knowledgeable and less prepared or equipped to deal with inclusion. Teachers with less teaching experience held more positive attitudes towards inclusive education. Recommendations were made to provide suggestions of ways to eliminate and discourage negative attitudes and research based recommendations for future research were listed.