Perceptions and Attitudes of Teachers on the Inclusion of Children with Disabilities in Mainstream Classrooms in the East Mamprusi Municipality of the Northeast Region of Ghana
1 Department of Health Promotion and Disability Studies, School of Public Health, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology
Abstract
Education is a fundamental human right and should be made accessible to all learners. However, lack of knowledge and preparation adversely affect teachers' willingness to embrace children with special needs in their classroom. This study ascertained teachers' perception and attitude to embrace children with special needs in regular classroom in the East Mamprusi Municipality in the Northern region of Ghana. The study used a descriptive design and qualitative data collection method to collect information on the topic from five basic schools in the East Mamprusi Municipality. Convenience, purposive, and simple random sampling techniques were used to select the schools and 40 respondents, comprising five head teachers, and 35 classroom teachers. In-depth interviews were used to elicit responses from participants. The data were analyzed thematically. The findings indicated that teachers had little knowledge of inclusive education. It also revealed that classroom teachers were not adequately prepared towards the implementation of inclusive education. The researchers recommend that Ghana Education Service, in collaboration with the Special Education Division, should make adequate provision to introduce more practical courses on special needs education (Sign language and braille) in teacher training institutions (colleges).
Keywords
- attitude
- children with disabilities
- inclusive education
- perception
- teachers
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