Mainstream School Teachers' Attitudes toward Inclusion of Children with Special Educational Needs in Poland

The need to provide education for all the children regardless their abilities and disabilities is highlighted in initiatives and legislation not only in Poland but worldwide (UNESCO, 1994). The literature shows a growing evidence that teachers play a key role in the development of high-quality inclusive systems (European Agency for Special Needs and Inclusive Education, 2015). This paper presents findings from a cross-national survey conducted among 147 teachers from mainstream schools in Poland. The authors investigated the teachers' attitudes towards inclusive education of children with different types of special educational needs as well as several factors associated with them: gender, age, work experience, and special education training. To examine the problems Attitudes Toward Inclusive Education Scale (Wilczenski, 1995) was used. The analysis was prepared in SPSS program and statistical tests were used to find correlations. Overall, the participants supported inclusion of children with mild emotional problems, mild learning difficulties, physical disabilities and communication disorders but were not so much in favor of accommodating students with sensory disabilities (deaf and blind), very low academic achievements (2 or more years below other students) and challenging behaviors in regular classes. These students presumably have high support needs. Furthermore, correlations between the attitudes of teachers toward inclusion and demographic features were examined and compared with other research available in current databases. In the discussion part benefits and drawbacks of the research and its implications for practice were discussed. A special emphasis is put on the need to support teachers in providing high-quality education for all children.