Attitudes Towards Inclusive Education - Research Paper Example

ATTITUDES TOWARDS INCLUSIVE EDUCATION Name: Professor: Course: October 29th, 2015 Introduction In 2006, Mandarin Chinese became one of the most common language that was spoken other than English. Statistics show that an approximate 1.8% of Australian students spoke it (Boyle et al, 2011). Over the past years, the number of institutions teaching it has increasingly gone up (Boyle et al, 2011). Statistics have also proved that Mandarin is the least common taught subject among students in Australia (Boyle et al, 2011). The rapid increase of Mandarin language has been brought about by the increase of Chinese migrants in Australia (Boyle et al, 2011). However, the teaching of Mandarin in Chinese institutions has become a major concern for students, teachers and even the management itself. Teaching students with special needs is more than being professional; the task of teaching them requires individuals to possess specific set of qualities. If any individual gives a consideration of helping students with special needs, one should be rest assured that excitement about this kind of situations where by other individuals give up, is just a perfect turn around because it would be a life changing and above all a rewarding career (Avramidis & Norwich, 2000). Good teachers that are tasked with helping the special needs students are always good humored. They have a well sense of humor that brightens their careers and rejuvenates them in their teaching profession. Regardless of the students’ disabilities, they always know when someone is getting out a fool out of their personalities. This is a primary feature that a special educational teacher should possess. If any teacher is to be successful, one should be organized so as to give students a clear structure of what is expected of them (Boyle et al, 2011). Whether a teacher is tasked with helping an intellectually disabled student, there is need to give a clear academic and physical structure that is conducive to learning. This is usually central to teaching students with special needs. A good trait that a teacher should also possess is accepting students the way they are, giving them an opportunity to learn and change their capabilities. Teachers should also be willing to listen to students when there is excessive attention needed and above all treasure their uniqueness. One should also seek to understand and give encouragement to their students that might help them all the way to achieve greatness. Creativity is an element that almost every individual should have, thinking outside the box makes one have a stellar performance in teaching students with special needs. A special teacher should also have the ability of finding new ways to explain and give a demonstration to students on the issues that evolve students in their day to day work. Creativity brings about enrichment in the teaching environment. Controlling students temper is crucial because students with intellectual disability always lose their tempers too often. Watching them closely is vital because immediate response will be very fundamental in how the students relate with their teachers the next time a crisis occurs (Boyle et al, 2011). Being calm about the situation will for sure help an individual that wants to become a special teacher who helps students with intellectual disability. Confidence is another trait that shows teachers are self-assured in their decisions and it gives composure (Butt, 2014). When a teacher continually leads students who are not used to taking any decisions themselves, one may start questioning an individual’s decision. When an individual decides to teach in special schools, one needs to be watchful as this makes it easy to foresee the needs and address concerns when it lacks the ability to know the needs about them. Teaching students with special needs is frustrating and at times students may be immature and suffer quietly along. Disabled students may have thoughtless words that can at times give teachers a hard time, more so a teacher that is over sensitive to negative complements (Butt, 2014). Developing a behavior that will protect an individual from suffering negative comments is vital because it helps an individual to control anger. If any teacher struggles with the trait, it is important to focus on positive feedbacks otherwise it may derail an individual from bringing change to the students. Literature review According to Forlin et al (2007), teachers attitudes are largely influenced by the level at which inability is accommodated within the classrooms. It was found out that majority of teachers in Australia expressed a generalization of agreement on willingness to include students that have inability in their classrooms (Forlin et al, 2007). The teachers only responded to accept students with mild physical disability rather than admitting students with severe physical disability and intellectual inability (De Vaus, 2002). The results from teachers showed that support for admission of students with severe disability were reported in research studies that were conducted in the United States; this was slowly replicated within educational corridors of Western Australia (De Vaus, 2002). The attitudes exhibited by teachers had important correlation with the actual practice in classrooms, the direction of causality is however not precise. Hemmings (2008) reported a positive connection that was exhibited between the attitudes of teachers’ inclusion and the belief that they could influence the educational results of Children that needed special attention. Research shows that teachers who have a view of inclusion had confidence in their capability of aiding students that were in an inclusive setting (De Vaus, 2002). They were also optimistic in adaptation of the students in classrooms and the procedures that were to support the students to be accommodated with their special needs (De Vaus, 2002). All academic areas that were assessed showed that teachers in general classrooms who did not accommodate students with special needs exhibited understanding and ability that is much lower than did their counterparts that were teaching students with disabilities (De Vaus, 2002). The teachers also gave an expression that there was need to have related service training and a relatively higher resources and support to meet the need of these special students (De Vaus, 2002). Research literature by many scholars show out that attitude towards inability give an impression that negative attitudes in classrooms lead to much lower expectation of an individual with inability which for sure leads to a reduced opportunity of learning and consequently an impaired performance which subsequently lowers expectations of both the parent and the student (Feng & Wang, 2014). A number of studies have also indicated that the most effective way that an individual can alter attitudes in the most desirable direction is by promoting positive attitudes among students learning foreign language (Cuskelly, 2003). The most present study was mainly designed to dig deeper into the additional methods by which practicing teachers exhibited their attitudes towards inability and an inclusive educational practice that was specifically modified through college courses and went a long way in combining with formal instructions that brought about an experimental activity that students with special needs could learn from (Cuskelly, 2003). The study in particular targeted students that had one kind of disability in depth and through studies that are associated with fieldwork activities that could eventually lead changes to both the teachers and students’ attitudes towards inability (Feng & Wang, 2014). The change in attitude in both the teacher and student is a major boost for the Australian Educational sector. It rejuvenates the spirits of teachers that are willing to help students with special needs but have not had a chance of getting exposure. Research has students exposure to inclusive education has been done through introductory inclusive academic subject which is included in Australian educational curriculum (Jones, 2006). The introductory inclusive academic subjects can for sure have a positive influence on the confidence and attitudes of the students that study these academic subjects. For instance, Tait & Purdie (2000) found out that participation of short academic inclusive subjects majorly impacted on confidence, fear and sympathy. Scholars found out that inclusion of inclusive academic subjects have a positive influence on students learning foreign language in Australia; however, the research has been limited (Jones, 2006). Other scholars have come out to argue that a single university special subject cannot properly prepare the students learning foreign language to effectively strategize and implement the various elements of inclusion and all the associated practices (Jones, 2006). Tait & Purdie (2000) argued that a one year post graduate course could not prepare an individual adequately. Research shows that lack of necessary skills and understanding of inclusion programmes can result in concerns for students learning foreign language (Lyons & Cassebohm, 2012). One major concern for pre-service teachers is the availability of resources. For instance, in a study conducted by Sandis & French (2000), a study that incorporated 603 participants within Western Australia, Singapore and Hong Kong, shows that lack of important resources was a major concern for the participants. The participants claim that important information about resources that support inclusion need to be given a lot of attention (Sandis & French, 2000). The concerns can be alleviated by making regular visits to schools that have inclusive classroom teachers that implement inclusive practices. The visits are seen to be second purpose because they give teachers the freedom to have contact with the disabled. Research questions The study mainly focused on the following questions: Main research question: 1. What are the main motivations of Australian students to learn Chinese? Sub question: 2. What barriers do students and teachers face when learning and teaching Chinese? 3. Are learning activities in Australian schools favored by students that learn Chinese? From the above questions, scholars could argue that inclusive education has not been given the chance in Australian education system (Boyle et al, 2011). Statistics show that, one subject done in a four years comprises 32 subjects which is normal for the people of Australia (De Vaus, 2002). With this kind of situation and the availability of few Australian based studies that have incorporated inclusive education in their classrooms, and the change in attitude for inclusive practice, it is very important that a study should be proposed (Boyle et al, 2011). Methodology Participants Due to the constraints of collection of data from a large number of students and teachers, the study used questionnaires in collection of data. The research incorporated ten schools in Illawarra region which offered Mandarin. From the ten schools, six were from the government, two Christian schools, one private school and one community school. The institutions that participated in the research were approached by emails. The study incorporated community schools in the study because it was found out that very few government institutions offered Mandarin. From the general number of participants, only 120 participants were recruited from these community schools. In these sense, the participants in the study represented a large sample of the target population. The participants in the study consist of 149 students, 14 teachers and 4 school coordinators. The students that participated were 65 males which represent 45 % of the total target population and 84 females which represents 55 % of the total population. The mean age of the participants was between 4-14 years. Statistics from Australian curriculum of foreign learners show that 72 % of participants were only introduced to Chinese as any other new language. The other 28 % of students were background language learners that were only interested in using it at home and the have varying capability of the proficiency and knowledge being learnt. The participants were also categorized into three main parts, the Chinese that were born in an environment that speak Chinese, Chines born in an environment that does not speak Chinese and those that were born of either parent is Chinese. From the study, none of the participants was a first language learner and from the target sample only 18% of the participants had visited China. The number of students enrolled across different schools is shown below. It shows that year 3, year 4 and year 7students were more than 50 % of the total target population. The participants were divided into three groups: Kindergarten (n= 8), primary (n= 79) and secondary schools (n= 60), this account for 5.8 %, 52.2 % and 42 % of the target population respectively. The pie chart below shows the distribution of Mandarin students in different schools over the years. The table above represents the enrollment of students that learnt Chinese in Australian institutions. Series 1 represents secondary students; series 2 represents primary students while series 3 represents kindergarten students from the population sample. The research study shows that the average Mandarin lessons took part every week and was almost the same level except for kindergarten students. Materials used The use of survey questions was arrived at because it was informed by the literature review of the research which requires specific answers for the research questions (De Vaus, 2002). The survey was divided into two parts whereby there are open ended questions and Likert scales. The main focus of the research is however based on open ended questions and it emphasizes on other sections of the surveys and uses an extensive project that relates to self-efficacy of students with special needs. Open ended questions are important because the allow participants to give personal responses that are seen as ways that are used in studying attitudes and opinions of students (Jones, 2006). Research shows that open ended questions are useful when the responses are unknown to the person doing the research (Jones, 2006). Results The results of the surveys are presented in the table and it gives the percentage of the responses with each category. For instance, the content analysis of round one response to the first question shows how better the teacher trainees are prepared to teach in inclusive classrooms. The analysis was based on 123 personal responses. On the other, the identical six categories were from round two analysis which had 109 responses. Table 1 Summary Analysis response to question 1 Category % of round 1 % of round 2 Exposure in schools 33.1% 47.2% Studying inclusive subjects 17.1% 11.4% Training 16.1 % 12% Availability of resources 12.9% 10.0% Sharing of information 10.4% 9.0% Lesson planning 4.5% 7.0% As evidenced from table 1, it is clear that participants emphasized that the training needed to offer experience in school setting. The schools are not seen to be places that an individual will only gain knowledge and skill but the teachers noted that visiting a range of different environments is a better way of preparing one for inclusive teaching. Forlin also argues that there is a much increased implementation of standards in Australia and it has increased the bureaucratic education which has seen many students interested in learning Chinese (Forlin et al, 2007). Students expressed their concerns that they may not be viewed as important elements in determining their academic excellence and they have been for long viewed as not appealing by the overall school institutions. The special schools have also positioned themselves as advocates for inclusive learning while at the same time having fear that if they advertise this courses in general public, other main courses may be ignored which may bring down the number of students they enroll from other nations. Table 2 Summary analysis response to question 2 Category % of round 1 % of round 2 Physical resources 45% 32.1% Aide support 17.4% 21.2% Programming support 11.2% 19.1% Support from other academic colleagues 5.2% 4.4% Professional development programs 4.2% 2.3% Assistance from parents 3.8% 5.5% Support from other teachers was the most desirable as shown from table 2. Based from the 172 responses, changes were evident given the support that was shown by participants in round 1 and 2. Aide support was no longer the main category because the survey comments reduced across the two surveys. Table 3 Summary analysis response to question 3 Category % of round 1 % of round two Preparedness in inclusive programmes 23.2% 12.5% Acceptance, support and cooperation 44% 41% Effective training 3.7% 6.1% Teacher Qualities 3.5% 6.0% If inclusion is to succeed, there is need to have cooperation among teacher, parents and even students themselves. Teachers also viewed motivation, commitment as pivotal to successive inclusive programs. Table 4 below represents an overview of the findings and the content analysis for the fourth question that asked about the importance of significant barriers to successful inclusion. In the category, 153 responses were garnered in round one and the subsequent figure in round two. Table 4 Summary analysis to responses for question 4 Category % of round 1 % of round 2 Attitudinal barriers 33.1% 37.4% Inadequate training 17.1% 18.4% Lack of optimism 10.0% 13.0% Inadequate physical resources 8.2% 6.0% Lack of funding 8.9% 6.9% Poor time management 8.0% 6.2% Classroom sizes 2.0% 1.0% Lack of support 5.5% 1.1% Most participants expressed their concerns that teachers are badly equipped and the training in some way was inadequate to meet the demands of an ever increasing education sector in Australia. Other participants also expressed that confidence was another aspect that was lacking when they taught students with special needs. Table 5 Response analysis to question 5 Category % of round 1 % of round 2 Time management 41.1% 50.2% Insufficient experience 24.1% 22.1% Resources and support 20.5% 19.9% No concerns 4.4% 1.5% The table above shows that there was a significant increase in number of responses on the management of time and energy levels. Table five is a representation of the second round of analysis that was entirely based on the 115 responses. Several changes were evident when results were compared between the second round in the same set if category. In the content analysis of round one response, the final question on preparedness of pre-service teachers to teach in inclusive classrooms revealed three major categories. It was entirely based on 95 individual responses. The identical categories that was evident in round two analysis was drawn from 87 responses. Table 6 Summary response analysis to question 6 Category % of round 1 5 of round 2 No 60.4% 40.1% Partly 19.0% 24.1% Yes 14.2% 29.5% A response from table 6 is the answer to the final question. It showed that participants who thought to have studied inclusive education subject thought that they were more than prepared to teach students that had special needs. Conclusion The study mainly focused on Australian school students that were learning Mandarin, the students preferred learning activities, and the barriers that all academic stakeholders faced in promoting, learning and teaching Chinese. The secondary school students were mainly interested in learning the Chinese culture and language while teachers were poised with a challenge when teaching and promoting Mandarin. Students expressed that teachers had difficulties in motivating the younger students to learn Chinese, the pressure in recruitment exercise, lack of assistance in professional development and shortage of teaching resource. This study has allowed scholars to make suggestions in terms of language teaching and language planning. Major agencies in languages and culture could play an important role in making sure that there is language planning in institutions. There is also a need to establish connections between professionals and school teachers so as to improve the quality of teaching and increase the desire of students to learn Chinese. If the number of students learning Chinese is to increase, the Australian National Chinese Language Curriculum needs to be put in practice; this will be of much help because it will develop different pathways for students with different backgrounds. Limitations of the study As much as the sample of students in inclusive education was conducted nationally, the sample of students was done in a small scale. The nature of the research was qualitative which means that the findings are only restricted to the opinions of the participants and they cannot be generalized. The research has also shown out that a quantitative and qualitative research would be much better in knowing the views of the students. However, the research draws attention on a matter that pertains to the present context. This research helps a lot in giving information to all academic stakeholders who will therefore determine and analyze different contexts for differences or similarities. References Avramidis, E., & Norwich, B. (2002). Teachers’ attitudes towards integration/inclusion: A review of the literature. European Journal of Special Needs Education, 17, 129-147. Boyle, C., Scriven, B., Durning, S., & Downes, C. (2011). Facilitating the learning of all students: The ‘professional positive’of inclusive practice in Australian primary schools. Support for Learning, 26(2), 72-78. Butt, R. (2014). The Changing Role of Teacher Assistants—Where Being a ‘Mum’Is Not Enough. PhD thesis, University of Canberra, Canberra. Byrnes, L. J., & Rickards, F. W. (2011). Listening to the voices of students with disabilities: can such voices inform practice?. Australasian Journal of Special Education, 35(01), 25-34. Carroll, A., Forlin, C., & Jobling, A. (2003). The impact of teacher training in special education on the attitudes of Australian preservice general educators towards people with disabilities. Teacher Education Quarterly, 30(3), 65-79. Costello, S., & Boyle, C. (2013). Pre-Service Secondary Teachers' Attitudes towards Inclusive Education. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 38(4), n4. Cuskelly, M. (2003). Changing student teachers’ attitudes towards disability and inclusion. Journal of Intellectual and Developmental Disability, 28(4), 369-379. De Vaus, D.A. (2002). Surveys in social research (5th ed.). Crow’s Nest, NSW: Allen & Unwin. Feng, Y., & Wang, M. (2014, July). A Survey Study of Chinese Pre-service Teachers’ Self-efficacy and Attitude to Inclusive Education. In Proceedings of Braga 2014 Embracing Inclusive Approaches for Children and Youth with Special Education Needs Conference (p. 695). Forlin, C., Loreman, T., Sharma, U., & Earle, C. (2007). Demographic differences in changing pre- service teachers’ attitudes, sentiments and concerns about inclusive education. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 13(2), 195-209. Hemmings, B. (2008). Youth Studies Australia (1998-2007): A review and content analysis. Youth Studies Australia, 27(4), 9-15. Hemmings, B., & Weaven, E. (2005). The reality of undertaking an inclusive education internship. In F. Bryer (Ed.), Making meaning: Creating connections that value diversity. Paper published in the proceedings of the Australian Association of Special Education (AASE) Conference, Brisbane, September (pp. 86-93). Brisbane, Qld: AASE. Jones, P. (2006). They are not like us and neither should they be: Issues of teacher identity for teachers of pupils with profound and multiple learning difficulties. Disability & Society, 19(2), 159–169. Jordan, A., Schwartz, E., & McGhie-Richmond, D. (2009). Preparing teachers for inclusive classrooms. Teaching and Teacher Education, 25(4), 535-542. Li, C., Wu, Y., & Ong, Q. (2014). Enhancing attitudes of college students towards people with intellectual disabilities through a coursework intervention.Journal of Developmental and Physical Disabilities, 26(6), 793-803. Lo, L. N. K. (2007). The sustainable development of inclusive education.Chinese Education & Society, 40(4), 44-62. Lyons, G., & Cassebohm, M. (2012). The education of Australian school students with the most severe intellectual disabilities: Where have we been and where could we go? A discussion primer. Australasian Journal of Special Education, 36(01), 79-95. Sands, D., Kozleski, E., & French, N. (2000). Inclusive education for the 21st century. Australia: Wadsworth/Thomson Learning. Soto-Chodiman, R., Pooley, J. A., Cohen, L., & Taylor, M. F. (2012). Students with ASD in mainstream primary education settings: Teachers' experiences in Western Australian classrooms. Australasian Journal of Special Education,36(02), 97-111. Tait, K., & Purdie, N. (2000). Attitudes towards disability: Teacher education for inclusive environments in an Australian university. International Journal of Disability, Development and Education, 47(1), 25-38. Varcoe, L., & Boyle, C. (2014). Pre-service primary teachers’ attitudes towards inclusive Education. Educational Psychology, 34(3), 323-337. Winter, E.C. (2006). Preparing new teachers for inclusive schools and classrooms. Support for Learning, 21(2), 85-91. Appendices Appendix 1. Questionnaire to students learning Mandarin Please fill the blanks with the most suitable answer in each blank space 1. I am a …………………………………………… a.) Male b.) female 2. Which year are you in high school? ……………………. 3. I am a ………………………………………………… a.) Chinese with one parent not Chinese b.) A non-Chinese student c.) Chinese born in an environment speaking Chinese d.) Chinese born in an environment speaking Chinese 4. What is your first language? .......................................... 5. What languages do you speak most often while at home? ................................................ 6. Have you at any moment visited China? ............... If yes, for how long? .......................... 7. What age were you when you started learning Chinese? .................................... 8. How many hours do you learn Chinese Language in a week? a.) 2 other b.) 4 hours c.) 6 hours d.) other 9. Which of the following helped you learn Chinese Not effective somehow effective A little effective Not sure Effective Very effective Method 0 1 2 3 4 5 Watching Chinese Shows Using Chinese books Listening to audio mp3’s Playing games Writing of characters Reading Chinese novels Travelling in China Making friend in Chinese Through social platforms Playing a role in class play Cultural activities of the Chinese Other From a scale of a 6 point scale, what are your reasons for learning Chinese? 13. In Questionnaires to School coordinators Your email: ………………………… Please fill the blank spaces provided with the most suitable answer. 1. What is the total number of students at your school? ………………… 2. Your school is a ………………………………….. a.) Public school b.) private school c.) Community school d.) other 3. Is your school currently offering Chinese lessons? a.) Yes b.) No If your answer to question 3 is no please don’t answer any questions 4. How long has your school taught Chinese and for how long? 5. What motivated you school to offer Chinese course? 6. How many teachers do you have that are teaching Chinese? Other comments …………………………………………………………………………….. ……………………………………………………………………………. Appendix 3 Questionnaires to teachers Your email: ……………………………………………. 1. How long have you taught Chinese? ………………………….. 2. What motivated you to teach Chinese? ………………………….. 3. What are the main barriers do you get in teaching an inclusive Classroom? 4. What years are your students in? ……………………………………. 5. Do you have any Chinese academic curriculum? 6. Do parents motivate students in learning Chinese? If yes, what ways? 7. Which is the most motivating way do students get to learn Chinese? Any other comment ……………………………………………………………………….. ……………………………………………………………………….. ……………………………………………………………………….. Read More