Abstract
This project examined teachers’ attitudes to children with special educational needs. Understanding the implicit and explicit attitudes of teachers is an important precursor to improving teaching practices for children with special needs. Participants (N=77) were pre-service teachers and experienced teachers during in-service training courses. Results showed that behavioural intentions related to explicit rather than implicit attitudes, and that feelings of guilt and anxiety were associated with intentions for negative actions. Profiles of attitudes were substantially similar in terms of personal and teaching experiences. However, attitudes were less positive about children with low social skills and more positive about children with low cognitive skills. Findings have direct application to training teachers of children with special educational needs.
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Levins, T., Bornholt, L. & Lennon, B. Teachers’ Experience, Attitudes, Feelings and Behavioural Intentions towards Children with Special Educational Needs. Soc Psychol Educ 8, 329–343 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11218-005-3020-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11218-005-3020-z