Perception of teachers towards inclusive education in some selected basic schools in the Amenfi East District

Abstract

A cross-sectional survey involving ninety (90) teachers from a population of one hundred and twenty (120) classroom and head teachers in some basic schools was conducted to investigate classroom teachers' attitudes toward inclusion of children with special educational needs in the inclusive basic schools within the Amenfi East District. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, namely frequency distribution tables and percentages. Most respondents said that children with disabilities needed more attention from their teachers; nonetheless, children with disabilities should not be included in traditional classroom settings alongside other children. More than half of the teachers responded that if they had their way, they would avoid teaching impaired kids, despite the fact that they are naturally thrilled to meet children with disabilities who want to study with other students. Less than half of the instructors said they try to encourage co-teachers to attention to the needs of disabled children as much as possible since all children have equal rights. Gender, prior experiences, encouragement from head teachers and special needs education coordinators, and availability to educational resources were found as factors impacting classroom teachers' views toward inclusive education in the district, according to the research. Teachers reported difficulty in implementing inclusive education due to a lack of evaluation, time allocation, training, teaching, and learning materials. The main recommendations are to conduct more research into the benefits of professional development and training, to provide adequate support and resources, and to provide intensive training on teaching special needs children in an inclusive setting so that they can respond effectively to the needs of all children in the class.