Assessing Teacher Opinion on the Inclusion of Children with Social, Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties into Mainstream School Classes

Abstract

This study used a mixed methods approach to determine mainstream teachers’ attitudes towards inclusion of children with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties (SEBD) considering the influence of age, experience, qualifications and the support they receive. The study further considered whether there was a link between attitudes and willingness to work with such children in mainstream classrooms whilst identifying the barriers to successful inclusion. A sample of 50 primary teachers (14 males; 36 females) volunteered to take part in the study. The results indicated that age, time in profession and support received were significant predictors of teacher attitudes, with time in the profession as the strongest predictor. Attitudes also had a significant effect on willingness to include when controlling for support received. Qualitative responses suggested teachers felt they lacked necessary training to include children with emotional and behavioural difficulties, and lack of consistent resources and support were commonly cited as barriers.

Keywords:

• Emotional and behavioural difficulties
• experience
• inclusion
• mixed methods
• social, SEBD
• teacher opinion
• Qualitative
• qualifications