Attitudes of Junior High Teachers Towards Teaching Students with Learning Disabilities in Inclusive Classes in Public Schools in New Providence, Bahamas
type: CreativeWork
description: Problem. The implementation of inclusive programs has met disapproval and concerns from many general educators regarding the presence of students with learning disabilities in their classes. The purpose therefore of this study was to survey junior high teachers in New Providence, Bahamas, to determine their attitudes toward teaching students with learning disabilities in general education classes; to investigate the type of instructional methodology used in general classes and to determine if instructional delivery is modified to assist students with learning disabilities; examine whether general educators collaborate with special educators when planning their instruction; and to identify if there are differences between educators’ attitudes on the basis of age, gender, training, years of teaching experience, and teaching assignment. Method. Participants in this study included 122 teachers, both general and special education, from seven public junior high schools in New Providence, Bahamas. A survey instrument was used to collect the data in determining the attitudes of educators and to determine if general and special educators collaborated when planning instruction. Ten percent of lesson plans from the respondents were perused to ascertain if any and the type of modifications were made to instructional methodologies to assist students with learning disabilities in general education classes. The analysis of the data was done using descriptive statistics and analysis of variance. Results. Educators in New Providence, Bahamas, both general and special, do not support the inclusion of students with learning disabilities in general classes in current or ideal practices. Some modifications were made to assist students with learning disabilities, but on a small scale. In current practice, there is very little collaboration and minimal support for collaboration of general and special educators when planning instructional interventions. Finally, there was no significant di…
abstract: Problem. The implementation of inclusive programs has met disapproval and concerns from many general educators regarding the presence of students with learning disabilities in their classes. The purpose therefore of this study was to survey junior high teachers in New Providence, Bahamas, to determine their attitudes toward teaching students with learning disabilities in general education classes; to investigate the type of instructional methodology used in general classes and to determine if instructional delivery is modified to assist students with learning disabilities; examine whether general educators collaborate with special educators when planning their instruction; and to identify if there are differences between educators’ attitudes on the basis of age, gender, training, years of teaching experience, and teaching assignment. Method. Participants in this study included 122 teachers, both general and special education, from seven public junior high schools in New Providence, Bahamas. A survey instrument was used to collect the data in determining the attitudes of educators and to determine if general and special educators collaborated when planning instruction. Ten percent of lesson plans from the respondents were perused to ascertain if any and the type of modifications were made to instructional methodologies to assist students with learning disabilities in general education classes. The analysis of the data was done using descriptive statistics and analysis of variance. Results. Educators in New Providence, Bahamas, both general and special, do not support the inclusion of students with learning disabilities in general classes in current or ideal practices. Some modifications were made to assist students with learning disabilities, but on a small scale. In current practice, there is very little collaboration and minimal support for collaboration of general and special educators when planning instructional interventions. Finally, there was no significant di…
author: Romer, Virginia Alicia
keywords: Disability and Equity in Education, Educational Methods
date published: 2004-01-01T08:00:00Z
date modified: 2026-07-24T00:53:07Z
provider: Andrews University
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: Andrews University