Perspectives of Teachers on Supporting The Participation of Students with Learning Disabilities in Inclusive Secondary Schools: A Qualitative Study

Abstract

Inclusive education is a strategy to provide opportunities for students with learning disabilities (LD) to interact with their typically developing peers in the classroom. Moreover, teachers play a vital role in aiding the participation of students with LD in mainstream settings. This study explores the views of mainstream and special teachers on inclusive education in Malaysia. The study focuses on describing and understanding school inclusion practices along with the teachers’ roles in supporting the participation of students with LD within the mainstream school environment. Six teachers were recruited through purposive sampling for the interview, whereby the interviewed data was subjected to thematic analysis. The findings emphasised the need for school-classroom interventions that reflect teachers’ professionalism, the network connection of students with LD in schools, the importance of student's placement in mainstream school settings, together with challenges encountered by students with LD to develop interactions and relationships with mainstream teachers and typically developing peers. In conclusion, the study revealed teachers’ readiness on supporting regular education experience for students with LD in mainstream classrooms. The results can also be used to map effective inclusive education practice strategies and policies in Malaysia.