Inclusion of students with special education needs : a quantitative study regarding Lao secondary regular teacher's perceptions

Abstract

The aim of this study was to describe the perceptions of the secondary school teachers regarding the inclusion of students with disabilities into regular schools. Therefore, I have followed quantitative methodology, with data being collected by applying a questionnaire to 90 participants who are Lao secondary school teachers in Vientiane Capital, Laos. The results obtained in this study were presented based on descriptive and inferential statistics, as well as in the form of conclusion and recommendations. The perceptions of the participants in this study led me to conclude that: 1) Most participants would like students with disabilities to be educated in special schools; 2) Most of the teachers considered that the placement of a student with disability into a regular classroom would be disruptive to students without disabilities; 3) Most of the participants indicated that inclusion in the regular classrooms would have a positive impact on both the academic progress and social progress of the students with disabilities; 4) The participants who lacked background information regarding teaching students with disabilities had negative attitudes toward the inclusion of students with disabilities into regular schools; 5) Female participants had greater positive attitudes to the benefits of the inclusion of students with severe disabilities into regular classes than male participants; 6) The participants teaching in urban schools had positive attitudes toward the benefits of inclusion of students with disabilities into regular classes and to the families of students with disabilities; 7) Teachers with training about teaching students with disabilities had more positive attitudes in relation to the education of students with disabilities into regular classrooms; and 8) Internal consistency reliability computed by means of Cronbach’s Alpha for the questionnaire was 0.84.

A finalidade deste estudo consiste em descrever as perceções dos professores do ensino secundário da cidade de Vientiane no Laos sobre a inclusão de alunos com necessidades educativas especiais (NEE) nas escolas regulares. Utilizando uma metodologia quantitativa, os dados foram recolhidos através da aplicação de um questionário, junto de 90 participantes. Os resultados obtidos neste estudo foram apresentados com base na estatística descritiva e inferencial, bem como sob a forma de conclusões e recomendações. As percepções dos participantes deste estudo permite-me concluir que: 1) A maioria dos participantes considerou que os alunos com NEE devem ser educados em escolas especiais; 2) Para a maioria dos professores a colocação de um aluno com NEE na sala de aula regular é prejudicial para os restantes colegas; 3) A maioria dos participantes indicou que a inclusão na classe regular tem um impacto positivo no progresso académico e social dos alunos com NEE; 4) Os participantes que não tinham informação sobre as NEE tiveram atitudes mais negativas em relação à inclusão de alunos com NEE nas escolas regulares, e 5) Os participantes do género feminino apresentaram atitudes mais positivas dos que os do género masculino em relação aos benefícios da inclusão de alunos com NEE severas em classes regulares; 6) Os participantes que ensinavam em escolas urbanas tiveram atitudes mais positivas do que os que ensinam em escolas suburbanas em relação aos benefícios da inclusão para os alunos com NEE e suas famílias; 7) Os professores com formação tiveram uma atitude mais positiva em relação à educação de alunos com NEE na classe regular; e 8) A consistência interna do questionário obtida através do alfa de Cronbach foi de 0.84.