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Parents’ perspectives on inclusion in Singapore primary schools
Author
Tan, Jennifer Huey Li
Supervisor
Yeo, Lay See
Abstract
The Salamanca Statement of 1994 has ignited a move towards inclusion and led to the proliferation of inclusion research in the U.S., UK and many parts of the world. In Singapore, efforts to become a more inclusive society have brought about improvements in the support of children with mild special needs included in mainstream schools. Given the limited amount of research done on inclusion locally, the current study seeks to understand the perspectives of local parents on inclusion. Both qualitative and quantitative approaches are used to study the perspectives and experiences of parents of children with and without special needs in the mainstream primary schools. Four significant orthogonal factors emerged from the principal component factor analysis – benefits of inclusion and rights of child, social and emotional support, individualized therapy and support and special education support. Survey results showed that parents held a significant positive attitude towards the benefits and rights of children to inclusion. However, there were concerns over the availability of social and emotional support, and the individualized therapy and special education support in mainstream schools. Parent variables (i.e. social economic status and education level) and child variables (i.e. types of special needs and severity of needs) also influenced the perspectives of parents on inclusion. Data from in-depth interviews suggested that parent’s worries were associated with their perception of teachers’ inadequate awareness, skills and training in special needs, and the limited time and attention teachers could provide due to perceived overwhelming workload, restricted resources, and large class size in mainstream schools. Implications and directions for future studies were discussed.
Date Issued
2012
Call Number
LC1203.S55 Tan
Date Submitted
2012