Teachers’ Experiences of Inclusion in Classroom Settings
Inclusion, as a general term, touches upon the most important social aspects of human life—the experience of being valuable and the sense of belonging. The aim of the study was to examine the assessments of teachers at dyslexia-friendly schools (DFS) on how their students are being included and acce...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-11-01
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| Series: | Education Sciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/13/11/1136 |
| _version_ | 1797459510439182336 |
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| author | Pål Arild Lagestad May Line Rotvik Tverbakk Anne Marit Valle Natallia Badhanovich Hanssen |
| author_facet | Pål Arild Lagestad May Line Rotvik Tverbakk Anne Marit Valle Natallia Badhanovich Hanssen |
| author_sort | Pål Arild Lagestad |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Inclusion, as a general term, touches upon the most important social aspects of human life—the experience of being valuable and the sense of belonging. The aim of the study was to examine the assessments of teachers at dyslexia-friendly schools (DFS) on how their students are being included and accepted by other students in class, and if these experiences differ between teachers that work in primary schools, secondary schools, and upper secondary schools. A questionnaire was administered to 433 teachers in Norway working at ordinary schools that were certified as DFS. A main finding was that almost all of the teachers reported a high, or very high, acceptance of differences regarding social and intellectual skills among students with special educational needs (SEN). Our findings about the high levels of social inclusion among students with SEN in DFS point towards the importance of including students with SEN in ordinary classes, not in special schools. Another main result was that teachers from primary schools reported a higher level of inclusion among SEN students than teachers from secondary schools. We argue that an explanation of this finding is that teachers working in primary schools have a relatively greater focus on inclusion in their teacher education. Other explanations may be a lower number of SEN students at primary schools, and that students at secondary schools experience environmental and biological changes that may affect their inclusion. In accordance with previous research, we find that in terms of inclusion in the classroom, the teacher’s role and behavior are of critical importance. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T16:52:25Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-02bb7a70d922465393a9d3323f89f037 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2227-7102 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T16:52:25Z |
| publishDate | 2023-11-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Education Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-02bb7a70d922465393a9d3323f89f0372023-11-24T14:38:42ZengMDPI AGEducation Sciences2227-71022023-11-011311113610.3390/educsci13111136Teachers’ Experiences of Inclusion in Classroom SettingsPål Arild Lagestad0May Line Rotvik Tverbakk1Anne Marit Valle2Natallia Badhanovich Hanssen3Faculty of Teacher Education and Arts, Nord University, 7600 Levanger, NorwayFaculty of Education and Arts, Nord University, 8049 Bodø, NorwayFaculty of Education and Arts, Nord University, 8049 Bodø, NorwayFaculty of Education and Arts, Nord University, 8049 Bodø, NorwayInclusion, as a general term, touches upon the most important social aspects of human life—the experience of being valuable and the sense of belonging. The aim of the study was to examine the assessments of teachers at dyslexia-friendly schools (DFS) on how their students are being included and accepted by other students in class, and if these experiences differ between teachers that work in primary schools, secondary schools, and upper secondary schools. A questionnaire was administered to 433 teachers in Norway working at ordinary schools that were certified as DFS. A main finding was that almost all of the teachers reported a high, or very high, acceptance of differences regarding social and intellectual skills among students with special educational needs (SEN). Our findings about the high levels of social inclusion among students with SEN in DFS point towards the importance of including students with SEN in ordinary classes, not in special schools. Another main result was that teachers from primary schools reported a higher level of inclusion among SEN students than teachers from secondary schools. We argue that an explanation of this finding is that teachers working in primary schools have a relatively greater focus on inclusion in their teacher education. Other explanations may be a lower number of SEN students at primary schools, and that students at secondary schools experience environmental and biological changes that may affect their inclusion. In accordance with previous research, we find that in terms of inclusion in the classroom, the teacher’s role and behavior are of critical importance.https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/13/11/1136inclusionstudentsteachers’ experiencesprimary schoolsecondary schoolupper secondary school |
| spellingShingle | Pål Arild Lagestad May Line Rotvik Tverbakk Anne Marit Valle Natallia Badhanovich Hanssen Teachers’ Experiences of Inclusion in Classroom Settings Education Sciences inclusion students teachers’ experiences primary school secondary school upper secondary school |
| title | Teachers’ Experiences of Inclusion in Classroom Settings |
| title_full | Teachers’ Experiences of Inclusion in Classroom Settings |
| title_fullStr | Teachers’ Experiences of Inclusion in Classroom Settings |
| title_full_unstemmed | Teachers’ Experiences of Inclusion in Classroom Settings |
| title_short | Teachers’ Experiences of Inclusion in Classroom Settings |
| title_sort | teachers experiences of inclusion in classroom settings |
| topic | inclusion students teachers’ experiences primary school secondary school upper secondary school |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/13/11/1136 |
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