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Pre-service teacher education in Singapore : changing attitudes towards people with disabilities and inclusion
Abstract
This study first investigated the attitudes of mainstream pre-service teachers in Singapore towards people with disabilities and inclusive education and their relationships with their background variables (gender, age, educational qualifications, previous training in special needs, contact with disability and programme of study). It then sought to develop and implement a disability awareness course, undergirded by the theory of cognitive dissonance, and examine the effect of this course on the awareness and attitudes of the pre-service teachers towards disability and inclusion. After excluding cases with missing data, the sample size was 1538 for the first part of the study and 1621 for the second.
The results showed that the pre-service teachers possessed ambivalent, bordering on negative, attitudes towards people with disabilities and inclusive education at the start of the study, and that the best predictor variables of their attitudes were contact with disability and prior training in special needs. This prior training also had a significant influence in creating greater openness toward the inclusion of students with various types of special needs (i.e., physical, academic, social and behavioural disabilities). While the variables of age, educational qualifications and programme of study were significantly associated with the pre-service teachers’ attitudes towards people with disabilities, these were judged to be of little practical significance because of the small differences in their mean scores. Gender had no significant effect on their attitudes toward people with disabilities. It appeared that only age had a statistically significant effect on the pre-service teachers’ overall attitudes toward inclusive education; however, this too was considered to be of little practical significance.
Findings from the second part of the study showed that the disability awareness course had produced significant positive changes in the pre-service teachers’ knowledge, awareness and attitude toward disability and inclusion. They revealed increased awareness of the positions taken by Singaporean society which had resulted in the exclusion and marginalization of people with disabilities and the lack of knowledge of and experience with disability of the mainstream community. The pre-service teachers reported arriving at greater awareness of their prejudices, misconceptions and stereotypes about people with disabilities. It was found that the course had positively influenced the pre-service teachers’ perspectives of people with disabilities in terms of their capabilities and ability to learn.
The results show the pre-service teachers evidencing a greater acceptance of people with disabilities and a realization on their part that they could make a difference in the lives of people with disabilities, and had a personal responsibility in creating a more inclusive society. The findings also revealed the pre-service teachers exhibiting greater openness toward inclusive education, willingness to accept students with special needs into their own classrooms and an increased desire for learning more knowledge and skills to cater to the needs of students with special needs. Overall, the findings in this study confirm that training can contribute to improving attitudes towards people with disabilities and inclusion. They also support the use of cognitive dissonance as a theoretical basis for designing courses to motivate attitudinal change. Implications for practice, policy and future research are discussed.
The results showed that the pre-service teachers possessed ambivalent, bordering on negative, attitudes towards people with disabilities and inclusive education at the start of the study, and that the best predictor variables of their attitudes were contact with disability and prior training in special needs. This prior training also had a significant influence in creating greater openness toward the inclusion of students with various types of special needs (i.e., physical, academic, social and behavioural disabilities). While the variables of age, educational qualifications and programme of study were significantly associated with the pre-service teachers’ attitudes towards people with disabilities, these were judged to be of little practical significance because of the small differences in their mean scores. Gender had no significant effect on their attitudes toward people with disabilities. It appeared that only age had a statistically significant effect on the pre-service teachers’ overall attitudes toward inclusive education; however, this too was considered to be of little practical significance.
Findings from the second part of the study showed that the disability awareness course had produced significant positive changes in the pre-service teachers’ knowledge, awareness and attitude toward disability and inclusion. They revealed increased awareness of the positions taken by Singaporean society which had resulted in the exclusion and marginalization of people with disabilities and the lack of knowledge of and experience with disability of the mainstream community. The pre-service teachers reported arriving at greater awareness of their prejudices, misconceptions and stereotypes about people with disabilities. It was found that the course had positively influenced the pre-service teachers’ perspectives of people with disabilities in terms of their capabilities and ability to learn.
The results show the pre-service teachers evidencing a greater acceptance of people with disabilities and a realization on their part that they could make a difference in the lives of people with disabilities, and had a personal responsibility in creating a more inclusive society. The findings also revealed the pre-service teachers exhibiting greater openness toward inclusive education, willingness to accept students with special needs into their own classrooms and an increased desire for learning more knowledge and skills to cater to the needs of students with special needs. Overall, the findings in this study confirm that training can contribute to improving attitudes towards people with disabilities and inclusion. They also support the use of cognitive dissonance as a theoretical basis for designing courses to motivate attitudinal change. Implications for practice, policy and future research are discussed.
Date Issued
2013
Call Number
LB1727.S55 Tha
Date Submitted
2013