馬拉威的融合教育： 在職和職前教師對特教學生的教學態度、擔憂和意願

Abstract

背景

在過去的十年中，馬拉威見證了全國各地大力推動建立共融教室的努力，旨在照顧那些數量不明、面臨受限於基本服務的障礙兒童。許多阻礙對建立成功的共融教室帶來挑戰，例如缺乏適當的培訓和適切的支持和教學用品，供學生和教師使用。了解教師的態度是教育品質最重要的決定因素之一，無論是在主流教室還是共融教室，了解可能與教師對共融教育的現有態度或感知相關的因素，以鼓勵他們接受共融教育培訓並在共融教室中教學，也非常重要。

目標

本研究旨在調查馬拉威在職和職前教師之社會人口學變項、對實施共融教育的態度與擔憂，以及進行共融教育的意願之間的關聯性。

方法

在2023年3月17日至2023年3月31日期間，於馬拉威的兩個城市，里朗威和姆祖祖，進行了一項調查研究，收集有關社會人口學特徵和過去接觸共融教育的資料，以及《對共融教育態度量表》（ATIES）、《對共融教育擔憂程度量表》（CIES）和進行共融教育之意願的問題。使用描述性統計方法檢查每個變項和量表數值的分佈。採用T檢驗和ANOVA比較ATIES和CIES的平均得分在不同組間的差異。使用線性迴歸研究社會人口學變量、過去接觸共融教育的經驗、ATIES/CIES得分和進行共融教育意願程度之間的聯繫。

結果

共有874名在職教師和197名職前教師參與了調查。在校正社會人口學變量和過去接觸共融教育的經驗後，對共融教育的態度和擔憂與進行共融教育意願呈正相關。與職前教師相比，私立和公立學校的在職教師有較高的意願。

結論

本研究的結果有助於了解馬拉威教師對共融教育的態度、擔憂和意願。通過解決已確認的困難，並加強教師的能力和準備，有助於更具共融性的教育體系的推廣，從而為障礙兒童提供平等的教育機會，促進他們整體的福祉和發展。

Background

Over the past decade, Malawi has witnessed a significant effort to expand the presence of inclusive classrooms throughout the country, aiming to cater to an undetermined quantity of children with disabilities who face limited access to essential services. Many barriers make having a successful inclusive classroom challenging, such as a lack of proper training and appropriate support and supplies for the students and teachers. Knowing that teacher attitude is one of the most important determinants in the quality of education, in mainstream and inclusive classrooms, it is also important to understand what factors could be associated with teachers’ pre-existing attitudes or perceptions of inclusive education to encourage them to train in and teach inclusive classrooms.

Objectives

This study aimed to investigate the associations between the socio-demographic variables, attitudes and concerns toward implementing inclusive education and their willingness to conduct inclusive education among Malawian in-service and pre-service teachers.

Methods

A total of 874 in-service teachers and 197 pre-service teachers in Lilongwe and Mzuzu, Malawi, participated in the survey between March 17, 2023, and March 31, 2023. A four-part survey containing socio-demographic and past exposure to inclusive education questions, the Attitudes Towards Inclusive Education Scale (ATIES), Concerns about Inclusive Education Scale (CIES), and willingness to teach inclusive education questions were utilized. Descriptive statistics were used to examine the distribution of each variable and each scale. T-test and ANOVA were used to compare the means of the average score of the ATIES and CIES between groups. Linear regression was utilized to investigate the associations between the socio-demographic variables, past exposure to inclusive education, ATIES/CIES scores, and the willingness score.

Results

Attitudes and concerns were positively associated with willingness after adjusting for socio-demographic variables and past exposure to inclusive education. In-service teachers in private and public schools exhibited a higher level of willingness in comparison to pre-service teachers.

Conclusion

The findings of this study shed light on the attitudes, concerns, and willingness of teachers to teach in inclusive classrooms in Malawi. The promotion of a more inclusive education system can be achieved by tackling the acknowledged difficulties and bolstering the aptitude and preparedness of educators to effectively teach in inclusive classroom settings. This could contribute to providing equal education opportunities and promoting the overall well-being and development of children with disabilities in Malawi.

Keywords

In-service teacher, pre-service teacher, learners with special needs, children living with disability, inclusive education, attitudes, concerns, willingness