Ajay Das

Implementing inclusive education in Delhi, India: regular school teachers’ preferences for professional development delivery modes

This study examines the preferences of regular primary and secondary school teachers in Delhi, India regarding professional development delivery modes in the context of inclusive education for students with disabilities. A total of 223 primary school teachers and 130 secondary school teachers responded to a seven-item Likert-type questionnaire, indicating their preferences for the delivery modes. The teachers were also requested to list additional delivery modes that they would like to see being used while receiving in-service training. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, t tests and Spearman rank-order correlation. The implications for teacher training in India are discussed in terms of the different models that can improve teacher quality for inclusive education.

Teachers' concerns about inclusive education in Ahmedabad, India

This study was undertaken to determine the concerns of primary school teachers about the inclusion of students with disabilities in Ahmedabad, India. A total of 560 teachers, working in government-run schools, returned the completed survey. A two-part questionnaire was used in this study. Part 1 gathered information relating to personal and professional characteristics of the teachers. Part 2 was a 21-item Likert scale titled Concerns about Inclusive Education – Gujarati. The major finding of the study was that the teachers in Ahmedabad were moderately concerned about including students with disabilities in their classrooms. The teachers were most concerned about lack of infrastructural resources and least concerned about lack of social acceptance of students with disabilities in inclusive education classrooms. Significant differences existed in teacher concerns based on the following background variables: gender, qualifications in special education, teaching experience and number of students with disabilities in class. A number of implications are discussed to address teacher concerns for inclusive education in India.

Attitudes of secondary school teachers towards inclusive education in New Delhi, India

This study was undertaken to determine the attitudes of secondary regular schoolteachers towards the inclusion of students with disabilities in New Delhi. A total of 470 teachers, working in schools managed by a private organisation in Delhi, returned the completed survey. A two-part questionnaire was used in this study. Part one gathered information relating to personal and professional characteristics of the teachers. Part two was a 16-item Likert scale titled, Attitudes towards Inclusive Education Scale. The major finding of the study was that the teachers in Delhi had positive attitudes towards the inclusion of students with special needs. This study also indicated that the teachers who were more positive about inclusive education were male, younger teachers (less than 40 years of age), less experienced (less than 10 years) and had postgraduate qualifications. In addition, the teachers who had a contact with a person with a disability and those who did not have a focus on disability during their preservice teacher education programmes were more positive towards inclusive education.

The teacher efficacy for inclusive practices (TEIP) scale: dimensionality and factor structure

The Teacher Efficacy for Inclusive Practices (TEIP) scale is designed to measure teacher-self efficacy to teach in inclusive classrooms. The original study identified three scale factors: efficacy in using inclusive instruction (EII), efficacy in collaboration (EC), and efficacy in managing behavior (EMB) (Sharma et al., 2012). The purpose of our study was to examine the TEIP scale for dimensionality and to cross-validate its factor structure for pre-service teachers in the context of early childhood education. A bifactor model fit to the data revealed that the TEIP scale is essentially unidimensional, that is, there is one dominant latent factor and the originally found three scale factors (EII, EC, and EMB) represent specific aspects of the general factor of teacher self-efficacy to teach in inclusive classrooms. Along with providing validation evidence, these findings have important implications for the scoring on the TEIP scale using classical test analysis or unidimensional item response theory models.

Overview of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in young children

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a complex disorder, which can be seen as a disorder of life time, developing in preschool years and manifesting symptoms (full and/or partial) throughout the adulthood; therefore, it is not surprising that there are no simple solutions. The aim of this paper is to provide a short and concise review which can be used to inform affected children and adults; family members of affected children and adults, and other medical, paramedical, non-medical, and educational professionals about the disorder. This paper has also tried to look into the process of how ADHD develops; what are the associated problems; and how many other children and adults are affected by such problems all over the world basically to understand ADHD more precisely in order to develop a better medical and or non-medical multimodal intervention plan. If preschool teachers and clinicians are aware of what the research tells us about ADHD, the varying theories of its cause, and which areas need further research, the knowledge will assist them in supporting the families of children with ADHD. By including information in this review about the connection between biological behavior, it is hoped that preschool teachers and clinicians at all levels will feel more confident about explaining to parents of ADHD children, and older ADHD children themselves about the probable causes of ADHD.

Ghanaian teachers: competencies perceived as important for inclusive education

The study aimed to explore the teaching competencies teachers in Ghana perceived as important to their teaching in inclusive classrooms. Using a quantitative research approach, 163 regular school teachers from two geographic regions of Ghana completed a 14-item questionnaire titled Perceived Competencies for Inclusive Teaching Scale and an open-ended question about the supportive resources they require to be effective in their classrooms. Descriptive statistics, ANOVA and t-tests were used to analyse the data and the results showed that Adapting Instructional Materials, Behaviour Management, among others were important competencies. Teachers in multigrade classrooms considered particular skills are important, reflecting their challenging roles. The respondents also identified the availability of teaching materials, support teachers, more training as key support resources, which will enhance their effectiveness in the classroom. We discuss the implications for future teacher training.

Special Education Today in India

Abstract Similar to Western countries, the early origins of special education in India started with Christian missionaries and nongovernmental agencies which stressed a charity model of serving populations such as the visually, hearing, and cognitively impaired. However after its independence from Great Britain in 1947, the Indian government became more involved in providing educational, rehabilitation, and social services. Thus over the past four decades, India has moved gradually toward an inclusive education model. This chapter discusses the implementation of such a model related to the prevalence and incidence rates of disability in India as well as working within family environments that often involve three to four generations. Also included are challenges that an inclusive education system faces in India, namely, a high level of poverty, appropriate teacher preparation of special education teachers, a lack of binding national laws concerned with inclusive education, a dual governmental administration for special education services, and citizen’s and special education professionals strong concern about whether inclusive education practices can be carried out.

Examining Teachers' Understanding of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

The aim of this study was to examine teachers’ knowledge, misconceptions and concerns about students with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). This mixed methods study involved 173 school teachers from five elementary schools. Knowledge of Attention Deficit Disorders Scale (KADDS) was used to measure teachers’ knowledge and perspectives about ADHD. The data were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Additionally, themes were created based on the responses from open-ended responses. The findings indicate that the majority of the teachers did not have coursework related to students with ADHD in their teacher preparation programme. The teachers indicated inadequate administrative support and access to professional development as primary reasons for their inability to include ASHD in their classrooms. This study concludes that given a rise in the numbers of students with ADHD, it is imperative that teachers receive specific and advanced training related to ADHD signs and symptoms to implement specific teaching strategies. Furthermore, future research should focus on evaluating teacher training programmes to demonstrate how emotional health as a result of ADHD could impact students’ performances negatively.