Attitudes and Self-Efficacy of Romanian Primary School Teachers towards Including Children with Special Educational Needs in Regular Classrooms
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18662/rrem/77Keywords:
inclusive education, special education needs, teachers’ attitudes, self-efficacyAbstract
In the last years, as a consequence of inclusive policies, the number of children with special educational needs in Romanian primary classrooms has increased. In this context primary school teachers face numerous challenges when teaching children with special educational needs in their classrooms. It is assumed that regular education teachers are the critical agents in this process of inclusion. Their attitudes toward the inclusion of children with special educational needs in regular classrooms is especially important for the success of inclusionary efforts. Teacher self-efficacy has also an essential role when addressing diverse learners. In this study we examine the relationship between teacher selfefficacy and teacher attitudes toward the inclusive education. Data were collected from 126 Romanian in-service primary school teachers that have in their classrooms students with special educational needs. There is a significant positive correlation between primary school teachers’ perceived selfefficacy and their attitudes towards inclusive education. Younger primary school teachers have more positive attitudes towards children with special educational needs and inclusive education. Those primary school teachers that have attended more special education courses appear to have less positive attitudes and are less willing to accept students with disabilities in regular classrooms. Practical implications of teachers’ attitudes and self-efficacy in inclusive classrooms are discussed.References
Ajzen, I., & Fishbein, M. (2005). The Influence of Attitudes on Behavior. In D. Albarracín, B. T. Johnson, & M. P. Zanna (Eds.), The handbook of attitudes. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum, 173–221.
Artiles, A. J., & Kozleski, E. B. (2007). Beyond Convictions: Interrogating Culture, History, and Power in Inclusive Education. Language Arts, 84(4), 351-358.
Avramidis, E., Bayliss, P., & Burden, R. (2000). Student teachers’ attitudes towards the inclusion of children with special educational needs in the ordinary school. Teaching and Teacher Education, 16(3), 277–293. doi:10.1016/s0742- 051x(99)00062-1
Avramidis, E., & Kalyva, E. (2007). The influence of teaching experience and professional development on Greek teachers’ attitudes towards inclusion. European Journal of Special Needs Education, 22(4), 367–389. doi:10.1080/08856250701649989
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. doi:10.1080/08856250210129056
De Boer, A., Pijl, S. J., & Minnaert, A. (2011). Regular primary schoolteachers’ attitudes towards inclusive education: a review of the literature. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 15(3), 331-353. doi:10.1080/13603110903030089
Eagly, A. H., & Chaiken, S. (2007). The Advantages of an Inclusive Definition of Attitude. Social Cognition, 25(5), 582–602. doi:10.1521/soco.2007.25.5.582
Ewing, D. L., Monsen, J. J., & Kielblock, S. (2017). Teachers’ attitudes towards inclusive education: a critical review of published questionnaires. Educational Psychology in Practice, 34(2), 150–165. doi:10.1080/02667363.2017.1417822
Florian, L. (2008). Inclusion: Special or inclusive education: future trends. British Journal of Special Education, 35(4), 202–208. doi:10.1111/j.1467- 8578.2008.00402.x
Florian, L., & Spratt, J. (2013). Enacting inclusion: a framework for interrogating inclusive practice. European Journal of Special Needs Education, 28(2), 119–135. doi:10.1080/08856257.2013.778111
Gherguţ, A. (2011). Education of children with special needs in Romania; Attitudes and experiences. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 12, 426–435. doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2011.02.073
Gherguţ, A. (2010). Analysis of inclusive education in Romania Results from a survey conducted among teachers. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 5, 711-715. doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2010.07.170
Horga, I., Apostu, O., Balica, M., Costache, L. (coord.); Fartuşnic, C. (coord.) & Vrăsmaş, T. (coord.) (2016). Educaţie pentru toţi şi pentru fiecare: accesul şi participarea la educaţie a copiilor cu dizabilităţi şi/sau CES din şcolile participante la Campania UNICEF Hai la şcoală! Buzău: Alpha.
Jordan, A., Lindsay, L., & Stanovich, P. J. (1997). Classroom Teachers’ Instructional Interactions with Students Who Are Exceptional, At Risk, and Typically Achieving. Remedial and Special Education, 18(2), 82–93. doi:10.1177/074193259701800202
Jordan, A., Schwartz, E., & McGhie-Richmond, D. (2009). Preparing teachers for inclusive classrooms. Teaching and Teacher Education, 25(4), 535–542. doi:10.1016/j.tate.2009.02.010
Mahat, M. (2008). The development of a psychometrically-sound instrument to measure teachers’ multidimensional attitudes toward inclusive education. International Journal of Special Education, 23(1), 82-92.
McGhie-Richmond, D., Underwood, K., & Jordan, A. (2007). Developing Effective Instructional Strategies for Teaching in Inclusive Classrooms. Exceptionality Education Canada, 17(1), 27-52.
Meijer, C. J. W., & Foster, S. F. (1988). The Effect of Teacher Self-Efficacy on Referral Chance. The Journal of Special Education, 22(3), 378–385. doi:10.1177/002246698802200309
Norwich, B. (1994). The relationship between attitudes to the integration of children with special educational needs and wider socio‐political views; a US‐English comparison. European Journal of Special Needs Education, 9(1), 91– 106. doi: 10.1080/0885625940090108
Pirrie, A., Head, G., & Brna, P. (2006). Mainstreaming pupils with special educational needs. Edinburgh: Scottish Executive Education Department
Pajares, M. F. (1992). Teachers’ Beliefs and Educational Research: Cleaning up a Messy Construct. Review of Educational Research, 62(3), 307. doi:10.2307/1170741
Savolainen, H., Engelbrecht, P., Nel, M., & Malinen, O.-P. (2011). Understanding teachers’ attitudes and self-efficacy in inclusive education: implications for pre-service and in-service teacher education. European Journal of Special Needs Education, 27(1), 51–68. doi:10.1080/08856257.2011.613603
Sharma, U., Forlin, C., & Loreman, T. (2008). Impact of training on pre‐service teachers’ attitudes and concerns about inclusive education and sentiments about persons with disabilities. Disability & Society, 23(7), 773–785. doi:10.1080/09687590802469271
Sharma, U., Loreman, T., & Forlin, C. (2011). Measuring teacher efficacy to implement inclusive practices. Journal of Research in Special Educational Needs, 12(1), 12–21. doi:10.1111/j.1471-3802.2011.01200.x
Soodak, L. C., Podell, D. M., & Lehman, L. R. (1998). Teacher, Student, and School Attributes as Predictors of Teachers’ Responses to Inclusion. The Journal of Special Education, 31(4), 480–497. doi:10.1177/002246699803100405
Subban, P., & Sharma, U. (2006). Primary school teachers’ perceptions of inclusive education in Victoria, Australia. International Journal of Special Education, 21(1), 42-52.
Tschannen-Moran, M., & Hoy, A. W. (2001). Teacher efficacy: capturing an elusive construct. Teaching and Teacher Education, 17(7), 783–805. doi:10.1016/s0742-051x(01)00036-1
Unianu, E. U. (2013). Teachers’ Perception, Knowledge and Behavior in Inclusive Education. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 84, 1237-1241.
Van Laarhoven, T. R., Munk, D. D., Lynch, K., Bosma, J., & Rouse, J. (2007). A Model for Preparing Special and General Education Preservice Teachers for Inclusive Education. Journal of Teacher Education, 58(5), 440–455. doi:10.1177/0022487107306803
Vrasmas, T. (2014). Curriculum for Children with Disabilities in Inclusive Education. A Literature Review. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 127, 336-341. doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2014.03.267
Weisel, A., & Dror, O. (2006). School climate, sense of efficacy and Israeli teachers’ attitudes toward inclusion of students with special needs. Education, Citizenship and Social Justice, 1(2), 157–174. doi:10.1177/1746197906064677
Yan, Z., & Sin, K. (2013). Inclusive education: teachers’ intentions and behaviour analysed from the viewpoint of the theory of planned behaviour. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 18(1), 72–85. doi:10.1080/13603116.2012.757811
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2018 The Authors & LUMEN Publishing House
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant this journalright of first publication, with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work, with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g. post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g. in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as an earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
Revista Romaneasca pentru Educatie Multidimensionala Journal has an Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs
CC BY-NC-ND
