Attitudes of Primary School Teachers Toward Inclusive Education

Jasmina Radojlovic; Tatjana Kilibarda; Svetlana Radevic; Milena Maricic; Katarina Parezanovic Ilic; Milan Djordjic; Sofija Colovic; Branimir Radmanovic; Marija Sekulic; Ognjen Djordjevic; Jovan Niciforovic; Ivana Simic Vukomanovic; Katarina Janicijevic; Snezana Radovanovic

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2022.891930

Attitudes of Primary School Teachers Toward Inclusive Education

Front Psychol. 2022 May 6:13:891930. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.891930. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ College of Health Studies Milutin Milankovic, Belgrade, Serbia.
² Department in Cuprija, The Academy of Applied Preschool Teaching and Health Studies Krusevac, Cuprija, Serbia.
³ Department of Social Medicine, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Kragujevac, Kragujevac, Serbia.
⁴ Department School of Applied Health Science Studies, Academy of Applied Studies Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia.
⁵ Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Kragujevac, Kragujevac, Serbia.
⁶ Department of Communication Skills, Ethics and Psychology, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Kragujevac, Kragujevac, Serbia.
⁷ Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Kragujevac, Kragujevac, Serbia.
⁸ Department of Hygiene and Ecology, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Kragujevac, Kragujevac, Serbia.
⁹ Department of Epidemiology, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Kragujevac, Kragujevac, Serbia.
¹⁰ Department of Natural Sciences, Faculty of Hotel Management and Tourism in Vrnjacka Banja, University of Kragujevac, Vrnjacka Banja, Serbia.

Abstract

Background: The aims of our study are related to examining the relevance of teachers' attitudes toward the implementation of inclusive education. In addition, its subject is related to the implications on inclusive education policies, limitations of the existing study along with the recommendations for our future research endeavors.

Methods: The research is a cross-sectional study type. The sample included 64 primary school teachers in the lower grades of primary school (grades 1-4), selected by using simple random sampling, in three primary schools on the territory of Belgrade, Serbia in 2021 (26, 17, and 21 primary school teachers). The Questionnaire for Teachers, which was used as a research instrument, was taken from the Master's Thesis Studen Rajke, which was part of the project "Education for the Knowledge Society" at the Institute for Educational Research in Belgrade. Dependent variables measured in the study referred to the attitudes of primary school teachers toward inclusive education. Categorical variables are represented as frequencies and the Chi-square test was used to determine if a distribution of observed frequencies differed from the expected frequencies.

Results: One in three teachers (32.8%) thought that inclusion was useful for children with disabilities (29.7%), of them thought that schools did not have the conditions for inclusive education, whereas one in four teachers (25.0%) believed that inclusion was not good. No statistically significant differences were found in the attitudes of professors, when observed in terms of their gender, age and length of service.

Conclusion: Investing more resources and time in developing and implementing special education policies can promote successful inclusive education.

Keywords: attitudes; children with disabilities; inclusive education; primary school teachers; quality and education.