Teachers’ Attitudes towards Including Students with Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties in Mainstream School: A Systematic Research Synthesis

Ulrika Gidlund

Abstract


Previous research reviews on teachers’ attitudes towards inclusive education have shown that students’ types of special educational needs influences teachers’ attitudes; these reviews have also indicated that, in terms of the inclusion of various groups, teachers are most negative about including students with behavioural problems. This article is a review of the research on teachers’ attitudes towards inclusion with regard to students who have special educational needs. It specifically identifies evidence regarding teachers’ attitudes towards the inclusion of students with emotional and behavioural difficulty (EBD). For this review, 15 studies, measuring teachers’ attitudes from 15 countries, met the inclusion criteria. The results of this synthesis confirmed that most teachers hold negative attitudes towards the inclusion of students with EBD; however, this was not true in all countries. The results also highlight specific explanations for why teachers hold negative attitudes towards including students with EBD in their classrooms. The implication of this synthesis is that teachers feel that their prerequisites for successfully including students with EBD are not being met; this impracticability is most impactful when the teachers nevertheless try to include these students.

https://doi.org/10.26803/ijlter.17.2.3


Keywords


emotional and behavioural difficulties, inclusion, research review, special educational needs, teachers’ attitudes.

Full Text:

PDF

References


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. https://doi.org/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), 129–49. https://doi.org/10.1080/08856250210129056

Boaz, A., & Sidford A. (2006). Reviewing existing research. In G. Nigel (Ed.). From postgraduate to social scientist (pp. 7–24). London: Sage Research Methods Database. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781849209182.n2

Bornman, J., & Donohue, D. K. (2013). South African teachers’ attitudes toward learners with barriers to learning: Attention-deficit and hyperactivity disorder and little or no functional speech. International Journal of Disability, Development and Education, 60(2), 85–104. https://doi.org/10.1080/1034912X.2013.786554

Bowman, I. (1986). Teacher training and the integration of handicapped pupils: Some findings from a fourteen nation UNESCO study. European Journal of Special Needs Education, 1, 29–38. https://doi.org/10.1080/0885625860010105

Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77-101. https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa

Čagran, B., & Schmidt, M. (2011). Attitudes of Slovene teachers towards the inclusion of pupils with different types of special needs in primary school. Educational Studies, 37(2), 171–195. https://doi.org/10.1080/03055698.2010.506319

Chepel, T., Aubakirova, S., & Kulevtsova, T. (2016). The study of teachers’ attitudes towards inclusive education practice: The case of Russia. The New Educational Review, 45(3), 235–248.

Cook, B. G. (2001). A comparison of teachers’ attitudes toward their included students with mild and severe disabilities. Journal of Special Education, 34(4), 203–213. https://doi.org/10.1177/002246690103400403

Cook, B. G., & Cameron, D. L. (2010). Inclusive teachers’ concern and rejection toward their students investigating the validity of ratings and comparing student groups. Remedial and Special Education, 31(2), 67–76. https://doi.org/10.1177/0741932508324402

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, 1(1), 1–24. https://doi.org/10.1080/13603110903030089

Department for Education. (1994). Emotional and behavioural difficulties. Circular 9/94. London, England.

Donohue, D. K., & Bornman, J. (2015). South African teachers’ attitudes toward the inclusion of learners with different abilities in mainstream classrooms. International Journal of Disability, Development and Education, 62(1), 42–59. https://doi.org/10.1080/1034912x.2014.985638

Dupoux, E., Wolma, C., & Estrada, E. (2005). Teachers’ attitudes toward integration of students with disabilities in Haiti and the United States. International Journal of Disability, Development and Education, 52(1), 45–60. https://doi.org/10.1080/10349120500071894

Elsevier (2017). Scopus. Retrieved from https://www.elsevier.com/solutions/scopus

Enslin, P., & Hedge, N. (2010). Inclusion and diversity. In R. Bailey, R. Barrow, D. Carr, & C. MacCarthy (Eds.), The Sage handbook of philosophy of education (pp. 385–401). London, England: Sage. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781446200872.n26

Evans, J., & Lunt, I. (2002). Inclusive education: Are there limits? European Journal of Special Needs Education, 17(1), 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1080/08856250110098980

Fink, A. (2005). Conducting research literature reviews: From the Internet to paper. New York, NY: SAGE.

Gaad, E., & Khan L. (2007). Primary mainstream teachers’ attitudes towards inclusion of students with special educational needs in the private sector: A perspective from Dubai. International Journal of Special Education, 22(2), 95–109.

Grieve, A. M. (2009). Teachers’ beliefs about inappropriate behaviour: Challenging attitudes? Journal of Research in Special Educational Needs, 9(3), 173–179. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-3802.2009.01130.x

Gyimah, E. K., Sugden, D., & Pearson, S. (2009). Inclusion of children with special educational needs in mainstream schools in Ghana: Influence of teachers’ and children’s characteristics. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 13(8), 787–804. https://doi.org/10.1080/13603110802110313

Khochen, M., & Radford, J. (2012). Attitudes of teachers and head teachers towards inclusion in Lebanon. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 16(2), 139–153. https://doi.org/10.1080/13603111003671665

Leyser, Y., Kapperman, G., & Keller, R. (1994). Teacher attitude toward mainstreaming: A cross-cultural study in six nations. European Journal of Special Needs Education, 9(1), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1080/0885625940090101

Maggin, D. M., Wehby, J. H., Farmer, T. W., & Brooks, D. S. (2016). Intensive interventions for students with emotional and behavioral disorders: Issues, theory, and future directions. Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, 24(3), 127–137. https://doi.org/10.1177/1063426616661498

Major, C. H., & Savin-Baden, M. (2010). An introduction to qualitative research synthesis: Managing the information explosion in social science research. New York, NY: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203497555

Monsen, J. J., Ewing, D. L., & Kwoka, M. (2014). Teachers’ attitudes towards inclusion, perceived adequacy of support and classroom learning environment. Learning Environment Research, 17, 113–126. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10984-013-9144-8

National Board of Health and Welfare [Sweden]. (2010). Barn som utmanar: Barn med ADHD och andra beteendeproblem. Retrieved from http://www.socialstyrelsen.se/publikationer2010/2010-3-6

Nilholm, C. (2017). SMART. Ett sätt att genomföra forskningsöversikter. Lund, Sweden: Studentlitteratur.

Prisma (2017). Retrieved from http://www.prisma-statements.org

Rakap, S., & Kaczmarek, L. (2010). Teachers’ attitudes towards inclusion in Turkey. European Journal of Special Needs Education, 25(1), 59–75. https://doi.org/10.1080/08856250903450848

Saloviita, T., & Schaffus, T. (2016). Teacher attitudes towards inclusive education in Finland and Brandenburg, Germany and the issue of extra work. European Journal of Special Needs Education, 31(4), 458–471. https://doi.org/10.1080/08856257.2016.1194569

Scruggs, T. E., & Mastropieri, M. A. (1996). Teacher perceptions of mainstreaming/inclusion: A research synthesis. Exceptional Children, 63(1), 59–74. https://doi.org/10.1177/001440299606300106

Shevlin, M., Winter, E., & Flynn, P. (2013). Developing inclusive practice: Teacher perceptions of opportunities and constraints in the Republic of Ireland. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 17(10), 1119–1133. https://doi.org/10.1080/13603116.2012.742143

Stoutjesdijk, R., Scholte, E. M., & Swaab, H. (2016). Impact of family functioning on classroom problem behavior of children with emotional and behavioral disorders in special education. Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, 24(4): 199–210. https://doi.org/10.1177/1063426615587262

Thomas, G., & Loxley, A. (2001). Deconstructing special education and constructing inclusion. Philadelphia, PA: Open University Press.

UNESCO. (1990). World declaration on education for all and framework for action to meet basic learning needs. International consultative forum on education for all. Paris, France: UNESCO.

UNESCO. (1994). The Salamanca statement and framework for action on special needs education. New York, NY: UNESCO.


Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


e-ISSN: 1694-2116

p-ISSN: 1694-2493