‘I don't have time to be this busy.’ Exploring the concerns of secondary school teachers towards inclusive education

Abstract

The trend towards inclusion in mainstream Australian schools has seen the numbers of students with disabilities educated in regular schools grow significantly. This trend has been supported by legislation such as the Disability Discrimination Act and the Education Standards. For inclusion to be successful, a number of factors are vital and teacher support for the programme is crucial. While there is research in the area of teachers’ concerns at the primary school level, little research has been conducted at the secondary school level. Research in this area is needed as the secondary school has differing factors from the primary sector that need to be explored.

Keywords:

• inclusion
• disability
• teacher concerns
• secondary school

Notes on contributors

Dr Penny N. Round has been working in the area of students with special needs for 25 years. Penny has qualifications in both special education and gifted education. Her primary research has revolved around students with special needs in regular secondary schools completing the VCE.

Dr Pearl K. Subban’s research interests are shaped by many years as a secondary school teacher and a school leader, over two continents. She has supported classroom teachers with accommodating diversity at both junior and senior secondary levels. Consequently, her research interests include: differentiated instruction, attitudinal studies, catering for diverse learners, language and literacy teaching. Currently, Pearl is involved with teaching undergraduate units in English Literacy and Child and Adolescent Development.

Umesh Sharma is the co-ordinator of Special Education Programs in the Faculty. Umesh is working closely with a number of professionals in the field of special and inclusive education from both developed (Canada, USA, UK, Singapore, and Hong Kong) and developing countries (India, China, South Africa, Fiji, the Solomon Islands Brunei and Brazil). He is the co-ordinator of an international project that examine why teachers are apprehensive to work with students with disabilities and what could be done to improve their efficacy to teach in inclusive schools. Umesh is also co-ordinating a large international project across all 14 Pacific countries funded by the Commonwealth of Australia. The project is aimed at developing a set of contextually specific inclusive education indicators. The indicators will assist countries to evaluate their efforts and develop further plans and targets for providing quality education for children with disabilities. Some of his other funded research projects include: ‘Including the excluded through teacher education reform in the Asia Pacific’ and ‘Empowering parents of children with autism to manage disruptive behaviours using Positive Behaviour Support (PBS) strategies’.