Bridging Inclusive Education in Multicultural Settings: A Data-Driven Approach to Analyzing Elementary Student Attitudes Toward Children with Special Needs

Objectives This study was conducted to examine the relationship between middle school children’s attitudes toward their disabled peers and their empathy skills. Methods This study involved 353 students, who were aged between 10 and 13 years, from a district. The study data were obtained by using the Cognitive, Affective, and Somatic Empathy Scale (CASES) for Children and the Chedoke-McMaster Attitudes Toward Children with Handicaps (CATCH) scale. Results Significant differences were found between students’ attitudes toward children with disabilities by age, encounters with children with disabilities, and the presence of disabled individuals in their environment. It was found that female students developed a higher level of empathy skills toward their disabled peers. A significant and positive relationship was found between students’ attitudes toward children with disabilities and their cognitive and affective empathy skills. Conclusions It was determined that the ‘interaction and acceptance’ and ‘avoidance’ sub-dimensions in the attitude scale have a positive effect on empathy skills, whereas the ‘pity’ sub-dimension has a low-level negative effect on empathy skills.

Introduction. Attitudes of typically developing students, their preparation for acceptance, and cooperation with peers with disabilities are important factors for the realization and success of inclusive education. Objective. The aim of the research was to determine the attitudes of typically developing students toward inclusive education and their relation to the attitudes toward people with disabilities, frequency of contact, classroom climate, gender, and class. Methods. The sample included 331 students from 3rd to 5th grade of regular primary school. The sample was divided into two subsamples: participants attending inclusive and non-inclusive classes. The following scales were used for evaluation: Peer Attitude Toward the Handicapped Scale, Chedoke-McMaster Attitudes Towards Children with Handicaps Scale, The Contact with Disabled Persons Scale, and My Class Inventory. Results. The results show that students' attitudes toward inclusive education of peers with disabilities are mostly negative. The most important predictors of their attitudes were: frequency of contact, disagreements, competitiveness, and grade. On the other hand, attending classes with peers with disabilities, attitudes toward them, satisfaction with the class, and gender were not the predictors of importance. Conclusion. The results indicate the need for early preparation of students with typical development for joint education with peers with disabilities through contact and nurturing a collaborative climate in the classroom.

INTERNET RESOURCES FOR SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS AND INCLUSION

Background: Deafness and hearing loss can pose adverse developmental consequences in communicative, cognitive, and socioemotional areas for both the child and parents. Objectives: The present study aimed to investigate the mediating role of maternal chronic fatigue in the relationship between the reactive aggression of deaf and hard-of-hearing children and attitudes toward having a disabled child. Methods: This study employed a descriptive correlational research design. The statistical population of this study consisted of mothers of all deaf and hard-of-hearing elementary students in special centers for such children in Ahvaz, Iran, of whom 202 mothers were selected as the sample through convenience sampling. Data collection was performed using the Reactive-Proactive Aggression Scale, Attitudes of Parents with Special Needs Children toward Their Children Scale, and Chalder Fatigue Scale. The proposed model was examined using structural equation modeling (SEM), and indirect relationships between the research variables were tested by bootstrapping. Results: The mean and standard deviation (SD) of reactive aggression, attitudes toward having a disabled child, and maternal chronic fatigue were 20.37 ± 4.84, 73.16 ± 14.66, and 21.47 ± 6.12, respectively. The results showed a significant relationship between attitudes toward having a disabled child and maternal chronic fatigue and between maternal chronic fatigue and reactive aggression in children (P < 0.001). Nevertheless, no significant relationship was observed between attitudes toward having a disabled child and reactive aggression in children. The results also indicated that maternal chronic fatigue mediated the indirect relationship between attitudes toward having a disabled child and reactive aggression in deaf and hard-of-hearing children (P < 0.001). Conclusions: The study findings suggested that the finalized model was well fitted to the data; therefore, it can be used to identify the maternal factors causing reactive aggression in deaf and hard-of-hearing children.

Since the Bandung Declaration of 2004, Indonesia has become concerned with the development of inclusive education. Even though teachers’ attitudes toward inclusive education are important for successful implementation, there have been few research studies on them in Indonesia. The purpose of this study is to understand Indonesian teachers’ attitudes toward inclusive education. This study surveyed 243 Indonesian teachers using the Teacher Attitudes toward Inclusion Scale (TATIS) instrument. The findings showed that 79.4 % of Indonesian teachers held a moderate attitude toward inclusive education. In addition, the number of teachers who had a high (8.6 %) attitude toward inclusive education was less than those who held a low one (11.9 %). Moreover, there were no significant differences based on demographic data such as gender, age, province, school type, highest education, teaching experience in general education, and teaching experience in inclusive education. A significant difference was found only when the level of schools grouped the teachers: teachers who teach in secondary schools had more positive attitudes toward inclusive education than teachers who teach in primary schools. The positive attitude of teachers towards inclusive education can make them more capable of controlled learning environments. Meanwhile, to improve their attitude, a sustainable training program can be carried out. Sustainable training organized by the Ministry of Education to improve teacher pedagogical and professional competence must be in line with Education for Sustainable Development (EDS).

The acceptance and inclusion of children with disabilities, especially in inclusive physical education classes, is crucial for their social integration and psychological well-being. To examine the relationship between friendship quality, empathy and attitudes of children without disabilities toward their peers with disabilities in inclusive physical education classes. The Children's Attitudes Toward Integrated Physical Education-Revised, Friendship Quality Questionnaire, and The Chinese version of the Interpersonal Reactivity Index instruments were used to investigate the attitudes of children without disabilities toward the participation in physical education classes of their peers with disabilities, the quality of their friendships, and their ability to empathize, respectively. Descriptive statistics, Pearson's correlation analysis, linear regression, and mediation effects were used for data analysis. Girls without disabilities showed more positive attitudes than boys without disabilities toward the inclusion in physical education classes of children with disabilities (total score t = -3.92, p < 0.001). Disability attitudes were significantly and positively correlated with friendship quality (r = 0.22, p < 0.001) and the ability to empathize (r = 0.16, p < 0.01). Empathy positively predicted disability attitudes (adjusted R 2 = 0.055, F = 13.555, p < 0.001), and friendship quality mediated the relationship. Friendship quality plays a key role in mediating the effect of empathy on attitudes of children without disabilities toward their peers with disabilities. Enhancing students' empathy indirectly improves their attitudes toward disabilities by strengthening friendships.

This study explores reflections of a group of postgraduate early childhood students in relation to their self‐reported attitudes towards inclusive education. Participant self‐reported attitudes towards inclusive education were measured using an adapted version of the Attitudes Toward Inclusive Education Scale (ATIES) and an adapted version of the Concerns about Inclusive Education Scale (CIES). Data were collected at the commencement and conclusion of a university unit focused on difference and disability. Within this unit, participants undertook individual self‐directed projects in which they identified, researched and provided recommendations to address issues of particular concern to them in relation to inclusive early childhood education. Participants’ written reflections were also examined in the context of the quantitative data in order to provide greater insight into the changing attitudes of pre‐service early childhood teachers over the course of one university semester. The findings of this provide some evidence to suggest that engaging in self‐reflection on attitudes and beliefs, along with developing practical skills for educating children of diverse abilities, may lead to more positive views of inclusive education. Furthermore, the importance of developing confidence in the ability to teach all children is highlighted through the student comments and responses to the ATIES and CIES.

Background: Several studies have shown that classroom teachers can strongly influence the implementation and potential success of inclusive education (IE). Therefore, assessing teachers/pre-service teachers’ attitudes toward IE with an objective scale is a key issue for many academic publications. This study compared differences in pre-service teachers’ attitudes toward IE between Thailand and Japan and discussed these differences mainly from the perspective of differences in their educational systems for children with disabilities. Method: This study’s survey utilized a modified version of the Attitude Toward Inclusion Instrument. The study participants were 109 and 221 pre-service teachers who were enrolled in teacher preparation programs in Thailand and Japan, respectively. Result: The basic concepts and ideologies of IE were similarly and widely accepted in both countries. However, Thai pre-service teachers were more likely to strongly perceive that education in special schools would have a negative impact for students with disabilities and that IE would have a positive impact. On the other hand, Japanese pre- service teachers had a more negative perception of the feasibility of IE compared to Thai teachers. Discussion: We attributed this result to the difference in the popularity and credibility of special education in the two countries. Japanese pre-service teachers held a more positive attitude toward special education compared to their Thai counterparts. However, this attitude may have caused Japanese pre-service teachers to become more concerned about IE, which could be a barrier to expanding IE in Japan.

Interpersonal skills, empathy and psychological capital are important factors affecting the social development of college students with social media addiction. A standardized questionnaire was used to survey 1000 college students from 6 different universities in Anhui Province, China. This paper proposes an intervention scheme to improve the interpersonal skills, empathy skills and psychological capital of college students with social media addiction. From the perspectives of school system construction, family and teachers, some guiding suggestions are put forward to improve the behavior of college students with social media addiction, and provide support for college students with social media addiction to better adapt to society and have healthier social relations. The results show that the interpersonal skills, empathy and psychological capital of college students with social media addiction are generally poor. Gender and level of social media addiction have significant effects on empathy, while grade, major and school type have no significant effects on empathy ability. Age has significant influence on interpersonal skills, while gender, grade, major, school type and level of social media addiction have no significant influence on interpersonal skills. Gender and major have significant influence on psychological capital, but age, grade and school type have no significant influence on psychological capital. In addition, the results show that the interpersonal skills, empathy and psychological capital of college students with social media addiction are related. On this basis, a set of intervention schemes to improve the interpersonal skills, empathy and psychological capital of college students with social media addiction are proposed.

PURPOSE. Given the ever-increasing diversity of the global student body and the individual learning needs of students, the establishment of inclusive educational settings has become still more relevant worldwide. Empirical evidence suggests that the success of inclusive schooling strongly relies on the attitudes of all stakeholders involved. As a result, research has focused intensively on examining the determinants of teacher and parent attitudes toward inclusive education. However, when considering students’ attitudes toward inclusive education, empirical research to date has focused primarily on examining the attitudes (and their determinants) of students without special education needs toward their peers without special education needs, while research on students’ general attitudes toward learning in inclusive educational settings is scarce. Against this background, this study aimed to explore the determinants of Mexican lower secondary school students’ attitudes toward inclusive education. METHODS. A total of 307 Mexican lower secondary students from 20 classes participated voluntarily in this study. The students completed a voluntary online self-report questionnaire on their attitudes toward inclusive education. Based on the literature review on individual and context-level determinants of students’ attitudes, the questionnaire, including data on students’ sociodemographic variables and general self-efficacy, as well as ratings of their teachers differentiated instructional practice, was developed. CONCLUSION. The findings of this study emphasize that solely attending a class together with a peer with special educational needs does not inherently translate into more positive attitudes towards inclusion, but rather the quality of contact and meaningful experiences between students do. Additionally, considering the significant role that students’ general self-efficacy has on their attitudes, the present study calls for appropriate instructional actions and interventions in which students can foster their personal beliefs on how they can engage with other students as well as with educational tasks within inclusive learning settings.

Social and inclusive education as captured under the Sustainable Development Goals enjoined most countries to implement policies to bring about education for all students. Inclusive education recognises that students come from diverse backgrounds with varied characteristics, which include different learning capacities and cognitive development. The purpose of this study was to examine Ghanaian teachers’ attitudes toward inclusive education. The Multidimensional Attitudes Toward Inclusive Education Scale (MATIES) developed by [Mahat, M. 2008. “The Development of a Psychometrically Sound Instrument to Measure Teachers’ Multidimensional Attitudes toward Inclusive Education.” International Journal of Special Education 23: 82–92.] was administered to 280 selected teachers in Ghana. The results of Confirmatory Factor Analysis revealed that the three-factor structure of the MATIES theorised by [Mahat, M. 2008. “The Development of a Psychometrically Sound Instrument to Measure Teachers’ Multidimensional Attitudes toward Inclusive Education.” International Journal of Special Education 23: 82–92] was not supported by the Ghanaian sample. Exploratory factor analysis yielded a correlated four-factor solution. These four factors were labelled Behavioural, Affective, Positive Beliefs, and Negative Beliefs. The reliability coefficients for these four subscales were 0.90. 0.86, 0.77, and 0.73, respectively. Analysis of variance revealed that males exhibited more negative beliefs towards inclusive education than females; more experienced teachers exhibited low behavioural attitudes than their counterparts with less teaching experience.

Inclusive education is at the heart of educational policy world-wide. Teachers' attitudes toward inclusive education, which are often associated with the success of the policy, have been studied extensively. Various factors related to teachers, students with special educational needs (SEN) and different specific contexts have been identified. In the current study, we explored the influence of social support on teachers' attitudes toward inclusive education. In a pilot study implying teachers, we replicated, in the French context, previous results showing a correlational link between social support and attitudes toward inclusion. Specifically, we showed that the more social support they perceived with regard to their attempts to include students with SEN, the more positive the teachers' attitudes toward inclusive education. In an experiment involving 314 teachers we then explored the causal link between these variables. Results showed that highlighting the support teachers receive improves their attitudes in comparison with highlighting a lack of support or a control condition in which support is not mentioned. These studies show the importance of supporting inclusive education in the schools. This support can be provided in different ways (emotional, informational, instrumental, etc.) and by different actors (colleagues, supervisors).

This study investigates factors influencing Israeli teachers’ attitudes toward including students with special needs in mainstream classrooms following recent reforms. Using an interpretive phenomenological approach, 40 female mainstream teachers who attended a special education workshop were interviewed. The research reveals general support for inclusive education but significant concerns about preparedness, institutional support, and managing diverse needs. Four main themes emerged: nuanced support for inclusive education, factors influencing self-efficacy, key determinants of successful inclusion, and challenges based on disability severity. The findings emphasize the importance of comprehensive training, adequate institutional backing, and teacher self-efficacy in implementing inclusive practices. The study provides insights into the complex landscape of inclusive education in Israel, offering guidance for policymakers, educators, and school leaders. It highlights the need for targeted professional development, collaborative approaches, and systemic policy alignment to improve inclusion implementation.

School leaders have an important role in supporting implementation of inclusive education practices in schools. Therefore, it is necessary to understand how school leaders’ attitudes towards inclusive education are formed. We used the Attitudes Toward Inclusive Education Scale that was developed to measure different facets of attitudes towards inclusive education for all students. The instrument was completed by 301 school leaders in Estonia. Three factors describing attitudes in facets of inclusive education practices, vision, and supports were distinguished. Structural Equation Modelling revealed that school leaders’ practices towards implementing inclusive education approaches are driven more strongly by their vision than the support available to them, although both aspects have a significant effect on their attitudes towards these practices. However, participation in in-service courses focusing on inclusive education and working as a school leader in a special school had negative association with school leaders’ attitudes towards inclusive education practices.

Teachers' Sense of Efficacy: An Important Factor in School Improvement