INCLUSIVE EDUCATION

In the past thirty years, inclusive education (IE) strategies have been proposed and endorsed for teaching students with special needs worldwide (Hassanein, Alshaboul, & Ibrahim, 2021). The foundational principles of The Salamanca Statement and Framework for Action on Special Needs Education (Ainscow, Slee, & Best, 2019) support this action. International, regional, and national bodies are actively creating laws and regulations to promote the education of all children in general education classrooms. “SDG 4” of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), developed by the United Nations (UN) for the 2030 Agenda, emphasizes creating an inclusive, equitable, and high-quality education system. This goal calls for regular schools to be equipped to provide the best possible education for learners with disabilities (Rasooli & Karamani, 2020). Consequently, inclusive education is viewed as the optimal approach for teaching children with special needs and ensuring high-quality education for all (Hassanein, Alshaboul, & Ibrahim, 2021).

In Africa, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), passed in 1994, allowed children with disabilities to attend regular schools, furthering the inclusion movement (Meijer & Watkins, 2019). This was accompanied by increased research, assistance, and regulations to ensure no child is excluded from full participation in school. Pather (2019) highlights certain advancements in inclusive education in Africa after The Salamanca Statement (1994), noting a shift in attitudes toward disability and an increase in enrollment due to universal primary education. However, despite numerous African governments releasing IE frameworks, implementation in classrooms is challenging due to a lack of resources and teacher skills. Therefore, the challenge in many African nations lies in implementing IE rather than formulating policy (World Bank, 2018). To integrate IE successfully in regular classrooms, researchers must fully acknowledge teachers’ perspectives on IE implementation (Meijer & Watkins, 2019).

Uganda has adopted inclusive education approaches since signing the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (1994) and the Salamanca Declaration (1994). As part of the National Vision 2040, Uganda’s reform plan for disability development now emphasizes inclusion. The reform strategy focuses on reducing inequality by enforcing the Uganda Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) Act of 2007 to ensure equality in all areas of the economy. The National Planning Authority (NPA) created the National Disability Inclusive Planning Guidelines to guide planning, budgeting, and overseeing disability interventions in Uganda (National Planning Authority, 2017). These plans serve as a roadmap for education sector planners to develop and implement integrated education practices for Ugandan students with disabilities and other special needs. Teachers aim to allow these students to benefit from their school experiences by learning alongside other students and receiving necessary support (Banda & Oketch, 2009).

In Uganda, three types of schools provide education for children with special needs: special schools, schools affiliated with mainstream schools, and all-inclusive schools where students with or without disabilities can attend (World Bank, 2020). However, parents, special needs education teachers, and other stakeholders have engaged in a contentious debate over the viability of inclusive education (Grace & Oketcho, 2022). The debate centers on interpreting inclusion, which mandates that students with special needs and disabilities attend mainstream classes regardless of their age, ability, or impairment (Chibaya, Chicaya, Govender, & Naidoo, 2022). Teachers can play a crucial role in successfully implementing inclusion if they have access to the right laws, resources, and support (Matundura, Bota, & Kodero, 2022). Given today’s classrooms’ diverse groups of students with varying needs and skills, educational institutions—and teachers in particular—must provide for these pupils effectively (Miller, Wilt, Allock, Morningstar, & Ruppar, 2022). Therefore, exploring teachers’ perspectives on inclusive education is paramount since their perceptions can significantly impact the success of IE implementation in general primary schools.

Conceptual Background

Inclusive education is viewed from various angles. According to Cushner, McClelland, and Safford (2012), inclusive education integrates students with physical, developmental, or social-emotional challenges and those with long-term health issues into conventional classroom settings. It occurs when children with and without disabilities attend the same school (Africa for Results Initiative, 2017). Save the Children (2016) states that IE actively ensures every child, regardless of gender, ability, language, nationality, religion, or other distinguishing features, is supported in learning with peers and reaching their full potential. The tenets of inclusive education include the belief that aptitude differences are not indicators of superiority or inferiority and that group diversity is both desired and inevitable. IE offers necessary adaptations to ensure every student, regardless of disability, can participate in all classroom experiences similarly to others (Cushner, McClelland, & Safford, 2012).

Conversely, perspective refers to a person’s attitude or point of view toward something, such as an event, circumstance, or person (Dignath, Rimm-Kaufman, Van Ewijk, & Kunter, 2022). It is defined as an educator’s attitude or viewpoint on inclusive education (Deku & Vanderpuye, 2017). Effective implementation of the inclusive education program depends significantly on teachers’ knowledge, attitudes, and abilities regarding inclusive education (Deku & Vanderpuye, 2017). Educators’ perception of IE as ineffective underscores prevailing apprehensions around it and suggests that pupils in inclusive classrooms may continue to be deprived of relevant and efficient learning (Nwadinobi, 2017).

Contextual Background

This study was conducted in Universal Primary Education (UPE) schools in Masaka City, located in Uganda’s Central Region. Masaka City is approximately 130 km southwest of Kampala, the capital, and connected to Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) via the Trans-African Highway. Masaka City Council has a Special Needs Education section operational since 1996 to sensitize communities about educating children with disabilities and equip teachers with methods for handling these children in the classroom (Oketch, Yuwono, & Abdu, 2021). However, the city has only one school specifically for children with special needs, Masaka School (SND), among a total of 55 government-owned primary schools. Parents, therefore, try to enroll their children with special needs in nearby regular UPE schools. One main barrier to IE implementation in regular UPE schools may be teachers’ incapacity to handle students with special needs in an inclusive classroom environment. According to NUDIPU’s (2018) “analysis of inclusiveness of teacher education policies in Uganda” report, teachers in UPE schools lack the capacity to teach students with disabilities in an inclusive environment. Although the Ministry of Education and Sports (MoES) has declared its intention to hold teacher capacity-building sessions on inclusive education methods as part of Uganda’s commitments to the Global Disability Summit, these efforts are still in the planning stages and not yet implemented (Lule, 2022). Exploring teachers’ views on inclusive education is crucial since their perspectives can significantly impact the successful implementation of IE in regular UPE schools (Wang & Degol, 2016).

Theoretical Background

This study is guided by the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) developed by Icek Ajzen in 1985 (Ajzen, 2011). The theory investigates how personal attitudes, other people’s expectations, and the sense of control over one’s behavior affect actual behavior. It examines a person’s capacity for specific actions and how various circumstances affect that capacity (Ajzen, 2011). In the TPB model, three elements influence behavior through the intention to engage in particular conduct: attitude toward behavior, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control. An individual’s attitude is their inclination to react positively or negatively toward a psychological object (Fishbein & Ajzen, 2014). This theory looks at teachers’ views and beliefs about inclusion and how those beliefs affect their inclusive teaching methods. Subjective norms are the social pressures experienced from significant others, like spouses, friends, and colleagues, to perform a particular action (Freitag & Dunsmir, 2015). A teacher’s willingness to implement inclusive education is influenced by the expectations and attitudes of other stakeholders. Teachers’ attitudes also influence one another. Perceived behavioral control refers to an individual’s perceptions of a behavior’s complexity and their capacity to perform it. According to perceived behavioral control, the likelihood of performing a particular behavior increases when one believes they can do it effectively (Stampoltzis & Papachristopoulos, 2018). Teachers’ attitudes on their effectiveness at implementing inclusive education impact its implementation success. The relationship between perceived ability to perform an action effectively and actual behavior within TPB may also be mediated by perceived behavioral control. Merely having the capacity to complete a task does not guarantee its completion (Fishbein & Ajzen, 2014). According to Stampoltzis et al. (2018), this influence can be indirect (I can accomplish the task) or direct (I accomplish the task). Understanding this domain’s additional power is crucial for comprehending complex behaviors (Fishbein & Ajzen, 2014).

TPB is relevant to this study as it triggers impressions of a specific behavior. Understanding the interaction between teachers’ attitudes and behaviors, and how the former may impact the latter in an inclusive classroom, is crucial for understanding teachers’ perspectives on actualizing inclusive education in UPE schools in Masaka City. Furthermore, examining motivating factors using TPB seems appropriate. The theory suggests an intention behind every behavior. This approach helps explore how teachers’ experiences and viewpoints on special education may affect their classroom behavior.