Factors affecting attitudes of Secondary School Educational Practitioners towards Inclusive Education in Mauritius

DOI: https://doi.org/10.59595/ajie.09.1.3

 

 

Nazia Abdoula-Dhunya

a Open University of Mauritius, Mauritius.

 

(Received 09 March 2021, Final revised version received 20 June 2021)

 

 

Inclusive education, as an educational reform to achieve education for all is referred to as educating students with special education needs in regular schools. This relatively new concept in Mauritius seems to be facing a number of challenges. Given the worldwide interest for IE, unfavourable attitudes would be a major hurdle in the implementation of IE in Mauritius. A positive attitude of education stakeholders in Mauritius is vitally important to complement inclusive efforts. The study endeavoured to determine the relationship of demographic factors, beliefs and self-efficacy on attitudes in the Mauritian context. A quantitative non-experimental descriptive survey research design was used in this study and respondents included 588 educators and 42 rectors/deputy rectors in 21 secondary schools (state and private). Investigating respondents’ attitudes was conducted through a specifically designed survey instrument. Results indicated an overall neutral attitudes towards IE. Training in inclusive education was found to significantly influence attitudes and a positive correlation of self-efficacy and beliefs on attitudes was found. These findings support the need for capacity building that could help nurture positive attitudes and foster inclusive environments in Mauritius. The study provides insights for future research to further the understanding of attitudes towards IE in Mauritius.

 

Keywords: inclusive education; special education needs; attitudes; self-efficacy; beliefs; Mauritius