Explaining classroom teachers’ attitudes towards inclusive education

Abstract

Teacher attitudes have been identified as an important resource when striving towards inclusive education as defined in the Salamanca Statement (1994). This study surveyed some key factors associated with teacher attitudes towards inclusion. The participants were 1,456 classroom teachers in Finnish primary schools who were asked about their readiness to include in their classrooms a student with a specified special educational need (SEN). The results were reviewed in association with some background variables, including workload concerns, evaluation of professional skills and the opportunity to get extra support if needed. The results show that classroom teachers’ positive attitudes towards inclusion were associated with their feeling that special classes represent an inappropriate placement for students with SEN, their belief in their ability to get outside support, their reliance on their own professional skills and their lower expectations regarding additional workload.