The Pedagogic Beliefs of Indonesian Teachers in Inclusive Schools

Abstract

This research explores, for the first time, the pedagogical orientations of Indonesian teachers in the context of inclusive education. A mixed-method approach was used for an analysis of questionnaire data from 140 teachers and qualitative interviews from 20 teachers in four inclusive schools. The findings suggest that, in general, the implicit orientation of teachers is social constructivist. This orientation is also reflected in their reported classroom practices. Although less common, more directive pedagogical approaches appear to have an impact upon the flexibility of roles within two teacher inclusive classrooms. Whilst the number of disabled pupils within each class was a significant issue for interviewees, no pupils were deemed unteachable in their classrooms. Furthermore, what is described by the teachers as a “special pedagogy” typically entailed additional teaching time and modified assessments, and consequently could be framed as “good teaching for all”. The questionnaires also contained responses from student and special school teachers and support the view that teachers’ beliefs about inclusive pedagogy are mediated by experience and occupation.

Keywords:

• epistemology
• inclusive pedagogy
• Indonesian education
• pedagogic orientations
• special educational needs
• teachers’ beliefs

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

There was no research funding for this study, and no restrictions have been imposed on free access to, or publication of, the research data.