Exploring the Knowledge and Attitudinal Perspectives of Regular School Teachers Toward Inclusive Education

Abstract

Inclusive education is a transformative approach that emphasizes the right of every learner, rooted in principles of equity, diversity, and social justice. This approach seeks to eliminate barriers to learning and promote meaningful participation for all diversify students within mainstream classrooms. Teachers’ knowledge of inclusive education forms the foundation for successful implementation of inclusivity in classrooms. Without adequate knowledge, teachers may feel unprepared to adapt lessons, differentiate instructions, or manage diverse classrooms effectively. Equally important are teachers’ attitude toward inclusion, which significantly influence their willingness to embrace inclusive practices. Positive attitudes foster acceptance, creativity in teaching, and collaborative problem-solving, whereas negative attitudes can create barriers to meaningful participation for students with disabilities or special needs. The present study sought to find out the present status of high school teachers’ knowledge   and their attitude regarding inclusive education in regular classrooms in District Bijnor of Uttar Pradesh. This study further try to find out impact of teachers’ demographic and professional factors as age, teaching experience and professional education on their knowledge level. Researcher is also keen to seek correlation between knowledge and attitude of teachers regarding inclusion and their impact on implementation. In this study descriptive survey method has been used.  400 high school teachers have been selected through purposive sampling from 50 stratified random selected schools from all over District Bijnor. Researcher in supervisor’s guidance, developed the Teachers’ Knowledge of Inclusive Education Scale (TKIES) to collect data for knowledge of teachers regarding inclusive education. Another standardised tool Teacher Attitude Scale Towards Inclusive Education (TASTIE) developed by Vishal Sood and Arti Anand (2011) was used to collect data of attitude towards inclusive education. . Descriptive statistics (frequency, percentage, mean, SD) were applied to find out status of knowledge and attitude, while independent t-tests and ANOVA examined mean differences, and Pearson’s r assessed the relationship between knowledge and attitude. Statistical analysis done with the help of SPSS 21 software. Result of the study revealed that high school teachers in Bijnor district possess an overall average level of knowledge regarding inclusive education. Younger teachers (<35 years, M = 126.52) demonstrated higher knowledge compared to those aged 35–50 years (M = 124.14) and above 50 years (M = 121.10), likely due to recent training programs that incorporate inclusive education. Higher qualifications also correlated with greater knowledge, as teachers with P.G./M.Ed. (M = 129.24) outperformed U.G./B.Ed. (M = 122.60) and P.G./B.Ed. (M = 124.23). Similarly, early-career teachers (<10 years, M = 126.12) scored higher than those with 10–20 years (M = 122.91) and >20 years (M = 124.29) of experience. Overall, teachers reported a “moderately high positive attitude” toward inclusion, and a positive correlation was observed between knowledge and attitudes.