Teachers' attitudes and instructional strategies on inclusion of students with disabilities when working with diverse population

Abstract

This investigation examines the factors predicting teachers’ attitudes towards inclusion of students with disabilities in regular schools, whether teachers’ attitudes predict their practices when instructing students with disabilities in their classroom and finally, whether teachers’ cultural diversity awareness predicts both their attitudes and their teaching strategies. A total of 141 regular classroom teachers were surveyed on their professional and personal background, their attitudes towards inclusion, their teaching practices and their cultural diversity awareness. Three English Speaking International Schools in Athens were chosen. All hosted a culturally and linguistically diverse population of students, consisting of more than 30 different nationalities. Results showed that teachers’ nationality, SEN training, SEN teaching experience and cultural diversity awareness predicted more positive attituded towards inclusion. Finally, teachers’ holding positive attitudes towards inclusion were using more frequently effective teaching practices when instructing SEN students included in their classroom.