Attitudes to pupils with EBD: an implicit approach

Research has shown that the attitudes of teachers towards pupils can influence their academic and social behaviour. In the context of special education needs (SEN), the same processes likely apply, and there is evidence that teachers' attitudes influence the success of inclusive initiatives. While the literature on attitudes to pupils with SEN is limited, there is also a heavy reliance on self-reported methodologies that are susceptible to presentation bias. Across two studies, the current research employed the Implicit Relational Assessment Procedure (IRAP) to measure the implicit attitudes of teachers in training (N = 20), primary school teachers (N = 20), and post-primary teachers (N = 20) and a group of controls (N = 20) towards pupils with Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties (EBD), versus the implicit attitudes of primary school teachers (N = 20) and post-primary teachers (N = 20) towards typically-developing pupils. Results indicated that teachers possessed greater negative implicit and explicit attitudes towards pupils with EBD, when compared to typically-developing pupils.