Teachers' Attitude towards Inclusive Education in Lithuania

Abstract

Inclusive education is a keyword in educational systems in many countries at present including Lithuania. It is not only an approach in teaching, but also a different organization of education in national systems. In order to make this type of education successful, it is necessary to create a welcoming classroom environment for learners with disabilities, to link general and special education systems, to develop and implement curricula effectively, to take an interactive approach to disability and disabled learners. At the same time it is important to differentiate education, to evaluate and record children ‘s individual cognition and the effectiveness of positive assistance, to improve the competence of teachers and support specialists as a key element in ensuring optimal teaching and learning process, to improve inter – institutional cooperation and the usage of resources purposefully. The study involves teachers with different backgrounds, professional qualifications and involvement in inclusive education and focuses on teachers' subjective self-assessment of attitudes in Lithuania towards the implementation of the inclusive education in the context of a three-dimensional model, which includes the affective, behavioural and cognitive indicators. The Technical Manual for Attitudes Towards Teaching All Students Instrument (Gregory & Noto, 2012) was applied in the study. For statistical analysis of the research data, the SPSS 25.0 program, the Descriptive Statistics, Pearson Correlation Test were used. The results of the study reveal Lithuanian teachers' attitudes towards the implementation of the inclusive education and the interaction of influencing factors.