Impact of training on pre‐service teachers' attitudes and concerns about inclusive education and sentiments about persons with disabilities

Inclusion of students with disabilities into regular schools is now one of the most significant issues facing the education community both nationally and internationally. In order to address this issue there is widespread acceptance that teacher training institutions must ensure that new teachers are trained to teach effectively in classrooms where there are students with a variety of learning needs. Utilizing a data set of 603 pre‐service teachers from Australia, Canada, Hong Kong and Singapore this study reports the effects of training in inclusive education on pre‐service teacher attitudes towards inclusion, their sentiments about people with a disability and their concerns about inclusion. The results are discussed in relation to a range of factors that could have produced different gains in their attitudes, sentiments and concerns among cohorts from different countries.     

'A Luxury for the First World': a Western perception of Hong Kong Chinese attitudes towards inclusive education

The debates I explore in this article were prompted by conversations I had with a Government Education Inspector who accompanied me on a visit to a primary school and participated in a series of workshops I organised while I was on a fellowship at Hong Kong University. May Lee's challenge to me that a non-selective education system was a luxury only the First World could afford provoked me into acknowledging a whole new dimension for our discussions of the function of segregated education for groups excluded from the mainstream. I begin by introducing the education system in Hong Kong as it was in the early 1990s. Then I go on, and discuss the activities and conversations I shared with May Lee. Patterns of inclusion and exclusion in Hong Kong reflect a deeply-respected concept of a 'good school'; special schools and classes are the only settings for the provision of additional learning support. I discuss examples of each. Finally, I discuss inclusion in education in the context of a developing country, drawing on the work of Chinese, Indian and Western writers to assess May Lee's claim. Opinion is divided. I conclude that the force of an international rhetoric of inclusion obscures the continuing operation of a cultural commitment to selection.     

Student attitudes toward peers with disabilities in inclusive and special education schools

Attitudes of elementary and secondary students toward peers with disabilities are explored. Reference is made to friendship, abusive behaviour, advocacy, and acceptance of special education or inclusion, as supportive of education of students with disabilities. Thirty-one students from special education schools and 21 from inclusive schools were interviewed. Qualitative investigation of interview data was undertaken. Findings indicate development of friendships and lower degrees of abusive behaviour in inclusive schools. Though students in both systems advocated for peers with disabilities, advocacy was more routine in inclusive settings. Most believed the approach taken by their schools to be appropriate for education of peers with disabilities. Findings were related to structural aspects of the schools, to social learning and social referencing theory, and effects of special education and inclusive structures on school life.     

Barriers to inclusive education in Greece,Spain and Lithuania: results from emancipatory disability research

Inclusive education is a key aspect of the European Disability Strategy 2010–2020. The aim of this study is to give voice to three local organisations of people with disability and for people with disability in Spain, Lithuania and Greece, discussing the EU policy for inclusive education in relation to personal experiences and national policies, as part of the Able’20 European project. The points of view of 58 young people with disabilities were collected through the ‘theatre of the oppressed’ approach as an emancipatory disability research tool, aiming at the empowerment of young people with disabilities and their organisations. The voices of young people show the presence of physical barriers alongside more challenging cultural and institutional barriers, which strongly limit access to inclusive education, showing an opposite trend to the EU policy, and overshadowing the social model of disability.     

The impact of a faculty training program on inclusive education and disability

This paper describes the knowledge gained by 20 faculty members following their participation in a training program on inclusive education and disability. The study, which was conducted at an university in Spain, aimed to design, implement and evaluate a program for training faculty members to respond in an inclusive manner to the needs of students with disabilities. An initial, formative and summative qualitative evaluation was carried out and four instruments were used for collecting the data: group and individual interviews, written open-ended questionnaires and observations. The data were analyzed inductively, using a category and code system. The results reveal that, after the training program, faculty considered what they had learned to be useful for their professional practice and highlighted that they felt better-informed and better-trained in relation to disability and were more aware of the needs of students with disabilities. Finally, in the conclusions section, the paper discusses the results in relation to those reported by other studies, and offers some recommendations for universities planning to implement training policies designed to build more inclusive learning environments.     

Sexual Relationships,Behaviors, and Experiences Among Bisexual Men in Mumbai,India

ABSTRACT

Objectives: This exploratory study attempted to assess a range of sexual behaviors, relationships, and related factors among a sample of bisexual men in Mumbai, India. Methods: Data collection occurred in two separate phases. First, focus group discussions were facilitated with local community members in order to finalize an interviewer-administered questionnaire. Afterward, structured interviews were conducted with a sample of 50 bisexual men using this questionnaire. Results: Participants reported a wide range of sexual behaviors and relationships with male and female partners. Conclusions: Findings have implications for future research and practice focusing on bisexual men in India,as well as their partners of all genders.     

Rights discourses in relation to education of people with intellectual disability: towards an ethics of care that enables participation

In this paper we argue that human rights approaches for intellectually disabled people have failed to recognise the complexity of rights claims made by and on behalf of this group. Drawing on a research project into discourses of education for intellectually disabled people in the Eastern Cape, South Africa we discern three rights discourses; namely, rights to full participation, rights to special services and rights to protection. These draw off a social model, a medical model and a protective model, respectively. We note that these discourses may be set up in contestation with each other. However, we argue that they can be seen as complementary if viewed within an ethics of care that enables participation. Within this conceptualisation, participation is viewed within relations of care but is subject to a critique that examines the role of context and disciplinary power in constructing dependency.     

Blacks, whites, and attitudes towards abortion

This article examines patterns of black and white support forabortion from 1972 to 1980. The findings reveal that black-whitedifferences are present on the abortion issue. Many of the differencesare due to the different demographic characteristics of blacksand whites and the greater degree of religiosity of blacks.     

Aging, disability, and disabled older people in India

India is witnessing a demographic revolution, leading to a considerable increase in the proportion of older people in the population. Similarly, life expectancy of both the mentally and physically disabled has improved considerably. About 5% of Indian older people have problems with physical mobility. Aging has become a gender issue in India not only because more women are surviving into old age; they are also vulnerable and disadvantaged in many ways. In most cases they are the only caregivers available for the old and disabled. Older Indians are considered a high-risk group for multiple morbidity. It is estimated that nearly four million Indians suffer from mental problems. India has around 12 million people designated as "handicapped." However, little information is available about disabled people who grow older. The National Policy on Older Persons, which has been recently formulated, aims at providing an improved quality of life for millions of older Indians. However, the concerns of older disabled and of the disabled who grow old are still treated separately in both policy and practice.     

Professionals' attitudes towards men in early childhood education: A national study

A national sample of women and men working in early childhood education was drawn from the membership of the National Association for the Education of Young Children in order to assess their attitudes toward the suitability, professional practice, and administrative capabilities of men in early childhood education. Men and women were found to hold similar views toward the capabilities and roles of male preschool teachers across all these areas. The general lack of polarity of attitudes between men and women on many popularlyheld beliefs about men in the early childhood field is discussed in relation to previous alleged stereotyped attitudes toward male preschool teachers.     

Religion and attitudes towards nature in Britain

Religious institutions have been identified as important conduits in shaping social attitudes toward nature and the environment. Using Lynn White's historical thesis that Judeo-Christianity has cherished the domination of nature ('dominion' belief) by humans as our frame of reference, this article examines the impact of religion, specifically Abrahamic and Judeo-Christian beliefs, on environmental attitudes in Britain. Based on the 1993 British Social Attitudes Survey, a nationally representative sample of the adult population in Britain, the multivariate results of this paper suggest that: (a) there is no significant difference between Christians and non-Christians concerning environmental attitudes; (b) Roman Catholics are the most sceptic toward nature among Christian denominations; and (c) irrespective of religious identification, the two most notable and consistent factors in determining pro-dominion attitudes in Britain are educational attainment and particularly levels of scientific knowledge about the natural environment.     

Reconstructing the Self: photography, education and disability

Despite the centrality of photography to an understanding of the self and others in contemporary culture, its educational significance has been largely ignored. This paper examines the potential of photographic work as a means of exploring and reconstructing understandings of disability in an educational context. The particular empirical focus is a short project in the context of a Foundation arts course. It is argued that the practical work produced by students on the project enabled them to understand how their identities are constructed within photographic discourses such as charity advertising and family photography, and to begin to reconstruct new understandings of the self. It is also argued that this goes beyond progressivist pedagogies or photography as a kind of art therapy.     

The protestant work ethic,human values and attitudes towards taxation

The literature on demographic determinants of attitudes towards taxation was briefly reviewed. Whereas most previous concerned the relationship between such things as income, vote etc. and tax attitudes, this study examined the relationship between Protestant Work Ethic beliefs, social value systems and attitudes toward taxation. It was demonstrated that subjects who strongly endorsed the Protestant Work Ethic were more opposed to taxation than those who did not strongly endorse these beliefs. Further many of the instrumental and terminal value systems of subjects who were pro-taxation were significantly different from those who were anti-taxation. The results are discussed in terms of the psychology of lay-economic beliefs and implications for social change were noted.     

The Who Concept of Sexual Health Applied to An Urban Poor Community in Mumbai,India

Objectives: The objectives of this study were to describe a scale that operationalizes the World Health Organization concept of sexual health and to assess factors associated with scale variation. Methods: Qualitative in-depth interviews (N = 39), sexual health interviews (N = 21), and survey data (N = 1,128) for this article are drawn from an Indo-U.S. project to reduce the incidence of HIV and sexually transmitted infections among poor urban married women (aged 18–49 years old) in Mumbai, India. Results: Lower sexual health status was significantly associated with gender inequity, marital violence, poorer marital relationships and physical health, and lower empowerment and social support. Conclusions: This work demonstrates the need to view sexual health in the broader context of community and family.     

Children's attitudes to parents', teachers' and employers' perceptions of term‐time employment

This article is concerned with examining working children's perceptions of how adults in a range of different settings view their employment. In particular, the article explores how participation in the labour market influences adult‐child relationships within the home, at school and at work. Children interact with adults across a variety of different spheres. Dependence and independence permeate children's relationships with adults in different social settings. Entry to the labour market and access to earnings promotes responsibility among children and encourages self‐reliance. The purpose of the article is to assess the extent to which these traits affect children's interaction with adults within and across the social spaces of the home, school and place of employment. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.