Attitudes of Children with Hearing Loss towards Public Inclusive Education

Background: This study raised the following problem: How reliable is the Inclusion for Children and Adolescents Questionnaire (ICAQ) when measuring the attitudes of students with hearing loss towards inclusive education (IE) in public schools in the Canary Islands? Methods: The sample consisted of 297 students from the province of Gran Canaria, and 137 students from the province of Tenerife, with an average age of 11 years old. An exploratory factor analysis determined the reliability and relevance of ICAQ. Results: The authors found four factors of students' attitudes towards IE: Family involvement and use of technology, inclusion in the centre, communication with medical specialists, and assessment of the support technology. Conclusion: There were significant differences between the students with hearing loss in terms of the following factors: Inclusion in the centre and assessment of the support technology. The total score of students' attitudes towards IE was high. This piece of research is very important for the governing body of any school administration, especially in relation to schools' educational planning and IE.