Abstract
Inclusive education is increasingly becoming a dominating paradigm of the educational system in Bosnia and Herzegovina. However, although supported by positive legislature, there are still numerous obstacles to inclusion. The goal of the present study was to examine the attitudes of regular education teachers towards inclusive education, more specifically towards obstacles to successful inclusion. The sample consisted of 200 elementary school teachers from two cantons in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The greatest obstacle for inclusion as perceived by the teachers was the lack of professionals trained to work with children with special educational needs in regular schools. It is of utmost importance to support regular education teachers in their efforts to support all students in their classes. This calls for a more meaningful and thorough reformation of regular schools.
Highlights
Inclusive education has long been on the list of educational priorities across the globe
Are regular schools ready to provide them with the best support needed? It has been postulated that one of the main preconditions for successful inclusion is the attitude of teachers towards inclusion (Loreman, 2007). We find it even more important for the success of inclusion to ask the teachers what they think are the main obstacles to inclusion and take these answers into account when designing policies and practices regarding inclusive education
Teachers had an option to write their own opinions on what they believed were the greatest obstacles to inclusion
Summary
Inclusive education has long been on the list of educational priorities across the globe. Inclusion can be conceptualised in the broader sense, as a matter of social justice and a case against any form of discrimination, in this paper we will regard inclusion only in its narrower, educational, context, that is in accommodating students with special educational needs in regular schools. A huge step towards defining inclusive education has been made at the Salamanca conference in 1994, organized by UNESCO and the Government of Spain It has been postulated at the Conference that the main principle of inclusive education is that children should learn together regardless of any difficulties or differences they might have (UNESCO: Salamanca Statement, 1994). For the purposes of this article we conceptualised inclusion in its narrower (educational) sense as creating equal access and equal opportunities for all students, regardless of their educational needs in regular schools and providing them with all the necessary support that will help them thrive
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