Teachers' Attitudes towards inclusive education in Kazakhstan

Автор: Agavelyan Ruben O., Aubakirova Saule D., Zhomartova Aisulu D., Burdina Elena I.

Журнал: Интеграция образования @edumag-mrsu

Рубрика: Международный опыт интеграции образования

Статья в выпуске: 1 (98), 2020 года.

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Introduction. The inclusion of students with special educational needs in regular schools is currently one of the most important issues on the agenda of national and international education communities. A positive attitude of teachers to inclusive education is a factor of its effective implementation. The purpose of this study was to investigate the attitude of teachers to inclusive education in the Republic of Kazakhstan and to determine the factors influencing their positive attitude towards inclusion. Materials and Methods. The sample consisted of 416 teachers of general secondary schools in the Pavlodar region of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The Sentiments, Attitudes, and Concerns about Inclusive Education Revised scale feedback form was used. For the processing of the results of the survey, nonparametric statistics (Spearman's correlation coefficient) and multiple regression analysis were used. Results. A general neutral attitude of teachers towards inclusion was revealed. The experience of interaction between teachers and people with special educational needs does not contribute to the formation of their positive attitude towards inclusion. Educators - people who work in rural schools and are confident in teaching children with special education needs - have the most positive attitude toward inclusion. Discussion and Conclusion. A more detailed analysis of the respondents' answers indicates the disinclination of teachers to implement inclusive education and the need for special training of teachers to work with children with special education needs that will increase their confidence in teaching children with special educational needs and create a positive attitude towards inclusion. Prospects for the study are to further explore attitudes of subject teachers, special education teachers, and providers of psychological and pedagogical support to inclusion in Kazakhstan and the impact of special training on the attitude of teachers to inclusion. The materials of the article will be useful to researchers interested in the problem of inclusive education, especially its condition in the Republic of Kazakhstan.

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Inclusive education, teacher, attitude, special educational needs, kazakhstan

Короткий адрес: https://sciup.org/147220739

IDR: 147220739   |   DOI: 10.15507/1991-9468.098.024.202001.008-019

Текст научной статьи Teachers' Attitudes towards inclusive education in Kazakhstan

Including all children in education is the major challenge facing educational systems around the world, in both developing and developed countries [1]. The basis of inclusive education is an ideology that excludes discrimination against children and ensures equal treatment of all people, and, at the same time, creates special conditions for children with special educational needs.

Based on the assumption that the successful implementation of inclusive practices largely depends on the positive attitude of teachers towards it, a large amount of research was aimed at studying the attitude of teachers to inclusion [2; 3].

The attitude of teachers towards inclusion has been widely studied in different countries: Finland, Australia, South Africa, Ireland, China, Greece, Singapore, Bangladesh, Norway, Zimbabwe, and others. Most of the research was conducted in the United States [4; 5]. However, there are no studies of the attitude of teachers towards inclusive education in the Republic of Kazakhstan.

Inclusive education in Kazakhstan has been developing since 2000, however, the active promotion of inclusion began in 2011 with the adoption of the State Pro-

gram for the Development of Education for 2011–20201.

Inclusive education is a process that provides equal access to education for all students, taking into account special educational needs and individual capabilities2. Inclusive education in the country implies two forms of its implementation: full and partial inclusion. Full inclusion is realized through the education of children with special educational needs (SEN) in general education classes. Partial inclusion means teaching a child with SEN in a special classroom when they are involved in educational and training activities of a general school or his individual tuition at home, visiting individual lessons in a class with the majority of students3.

There are 96 555 children with SEN of school age in Kazakhstan. They are:

– 13 897 (14.4%) children at special schools;

– 13 333 (13.9%) children in special classes of general education schools;

– 11 390 (11.8%) children tutored at home;

– 2 517 (2.6%) children in private educational institutions;

– 2 558 (2.7%) children in vocational schools and colleges;

– 45 104 (46.7%) children in ordinary classes of general education schools, among them 32.9% without correctional and pedagogical support, 13.8% have correctional and pedagogical support;

– 7 656 (7.9%) children with SEN who are not covered by the education system4.

It should be noted that in various documents the data on the number of children covered by inclusive education are different.

“The amount of reliable data on the number of children with disabilities and features of the development is extremely small”5.

The latest measures of inclusive policy are aimed at increasing the number of pupils with SEN and disabilities attending general education school. In this connection, the following questions arise: Are teachers of general education schools ready for such changes and what is their attitude towards inclusive education in their schools? What are the factors that determine the positive attitude of teachers towards inclusion? Our research focuses on the search for answers to these questions. It is important to identify the existing attitudes of teachers to more effectively address the problem during the period of their preparation and professional development.

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