NAMIBIAN TEACHERS’ MULTIDIMENSIONAL ATTITUDES TOWARDS TEACHING STUDENTS WITH SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS IN INCLUSIVE SETTINGS

Malakia Jatileni, Sari Havu-Nuutinen, Katariina Waltzer

Abstract


The success or failure of inclusive educational practices is significantly influenced by teachers’ attitudes towards teaching students with special educational needs (SEN). This research explores the multidimensional attitudes of teachers in Namibia towards teaching students with SEN in inclusive educational settings. We explored teachers’ multidimensional attitudes and how teachers’ cognitive and affective dimensions of attitude influence their behavioural stance regarding teaching students with SEN. The study is grounded in the theory of planned behaviour. Data were collected from 300 teachers in the Omusati, Oshana, Kunene, and Khomas educational regions of Namibia through a self-administered electronic questionnaire. Data were descriptively and inferentially analysed using Jamovi Statistical Software Version 2.3.18.0 and Statistical Package for the Social Sciences IBM Amos. The inferential analysis involved exploratory factor analysis, extracting three attitude components: cognitive, behavioural, and affective, comprising 10 items. The structural equation modelling analyses included confirmatory factor analysis to validate the measurement model and multiple regression analysis to confirm the structural model’s fitness with latent variables. The results revealed that cognitive attitude attained the highest overall mean score, followed by behavioural attitude and affective attitude. This suggests that although participants hold positive beliefs, ideas, and perceptions and are willing to teach SEN in inclusive settings, they displayed moderate emotions towards the practice. Furthermore, the findings indicated that teachers' cognitive attitude has a significantly positive influence on their behavioural attitude, whereas affective attitude was statistically insignificant, implying a negative influence. These findings bear significant relevance to education ministries, curriculum developers, education practitioners, teacher training institutions, and policymakers. They underscore the importance of considering teachers’ multidimensional attitudes in formulating and implementing inclusive education policies. Additionally, the results offer valuable insights for teachers, elucidating the impact of their cognitive and affective attitudes on their behavioural attitude towards teaching students with SEN in inclusive settings.

 

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special education, affective attitude, behavioural attitude, cognitive attitude, inclusive education

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