Inclusive Education of Pupils with Special Educational Needs in Czech Republic Primary Schools

Abstract

The current trends in the education of individuals with special educational needs (= SEN) include their inclusion in ordinary life, i.e. also into the mainstream education system. Within the inclusion, there is a “fusion” of the so-called minority (i.e. Individuals with disabilities / special educational needs) and majority (i.e. intact population / intact peers). Based on the data gathered so far in the context of this research related to the inclusion of pupils with special educational needs in Czech Republic primary schools (n= 500), we can say that a negative attitude prevails in teachers and executive workers of primary schools in relation to the inclusion of pupils with SEN. It also shows that Czech Republic primary school teachers fail to realistically define the difference between integration and inclusion of pupils, i.e. pupils with SEN. In relation to the problematic aspects of integration/inclusion of pupils with SEN, the respondents of the questionnaire survey/primary school teachers and managers often point out on the large numbers of pupils in primary school classrooms, they also refer to problems relating to the staffing of inclusion (note: teaching assistant is missing, there are problems with funding teacher assistants), the lack of primary school teachers in relation to the knowledge of the specifics and needs of children/pupils with SEN, as well as minimal knowledge of methods and procedures for working in an inclusive environment. Other problematic areas with the inclusion of children of school age is the lack of funds for supportive measures and the unpreparedness of the social environment/surroundings (intact children - classmates and their parents) to accept the children/pupils with SEN. The detailed analysis of the respondents’ answers indicate that those respondents who already have (their own) experience with the integration of pupils with SEN state, among other things, have far fewer barriers towards the inclusion of pupils with SEN and they are mostly positively inclined to integration. Based on the pilot study and initial data collection via the questionnaire method, it is still impossible to objectively answer the research question regarding a statistically significant association between respondents’ experience with the integration of pupils with SEN in primary school and their relationship to the inclusion of children with SEN in primary school, it cannot be generally answered on the basis of the pilot study and the initial data collection carried out by the questionnaire method.