Sustainability of inclusive education in Ghana: teachers’ attitude, perception of resources needed and perception of possible impact on pupils

ABSTRACT

Using the descriptive survey design and a sample of 142 teachers from eight inclusive schools in Cape Coast Ghana, the study investigated teachers’ attitude, their perception about resources they need for the effective implementation of inclusive education (IE) and the impact of IE on pupils. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse the data. Results showed that teachers have a relatively positive attitude towards IE, and indicated the resources needed for the successful implementation of IE. Furthermore, their perceptions of the impact of IE on pupils were positive. Additionally, there was a weak statistically significant positive correlation between teachers’ attitude about IE and their perceptions about its impact on pupils. It was recommended among other things that to sustain the practice of IE, teacher needs must be met. These include sufficient TLMs, information about special needs and disabilities, training on how to effectively teach pupils with SEN, training on adapting instructional materials for pupils with SEN and training on how to promote social interaction. Teachers need to be given, training and information on all aspects of IE.

KEYWORDS:

• Teachers’ attitude
• inclusive education
• resources
• impact
• sustainability

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Irene Vanderpuye is a special educationist and a Senior Lecturer at the University of Cape Coast. Her research interests include parental involvement in inclusive education, social attitudes towards inclusive education and educational intervention for children with special educational needs. She has been a Ph.D. holder from the University of Leeds, United Kingdom, since December 2013.

Gideon Kwesi Obosu lectures at the University of Cape Coast. He holds an M.Phil. in special education from the University of Education, Winneba and is currently a doctoral student in special education at the University of Cape Coast. His research interests include inclusive education, sign language and deaf education.

Mikako Nishimuko is a lecturer in international development studies at Teikyo University, Japan. Her research interests include gender and basic education in Ghana and Sierra Leone. She received her Ph.D. from Institute of Education, University of London.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the FY2015 United Nations University (UNU) grants for Global Sustainability “Development of the Inclusive Education System Model for Learning Improvement in Developing Countries” Rep: Prof. Kazuhiro Yoshida, Centre for the Study of International Cooperation in Education, Hiroshima University, Japan.