Elementary School Teachers' Attitude towards Including Students with Special Educational Needs into Regular Public Schools in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

The inclusion of students with special educational needs (SEN) into the regular educational system is a major concern. Hence, in the present study, the reactions of 100 qualified reqular elementary school teachers were evaluated to explore their opinions on the inclusion of students with SEN in the mainstream schools within Saudi Arabia. Moreover, these opinions were scrutinized based on certain criteria of the teachers including gender, educational level, teaching experience, knowledge and awareness about SEN, in addition to the type, character, and severity of students’ SEN. The outcomes of the study showed that the level of strategies used by the male/female teachers for teaching the children with special educational needs was on an average level. The study has also shown that there are no statistically significant differences for variables such as "years of experience", "educational level", and "teachers' knowledge of teaching students with special needs. As for the variable of "gender", the study has shown statistically significant differences in favor of the female teachers. The study has also shown that mild mental disability followed by mild visual and health disabilities are the most amenable categories. However, the least amenable categories for inclusion are severe mental disability preceded directly by the behavioral disorder.