An Investigation of Primary School Teachers’ Attitudes Toward Inclusive Education of Students with Hearing Loss in Taif, Saudi Arabia

Abstract

The Ministry of Education in Saudi Arabia has created a plan to upgrade the education system under the broader Vision 2030 of Saudi Arabia. The plan outlines the inclusion of all students with disabilities in regular schools by 2030. To achieve this, the Ministry has stressed the importance of teachers having a flexible attitude and being supportive throughout the inclusion process. In addition, the Ministry acknowledges that teachers with a positive attitude toward inclusive education play a crucial role in the success of inclusion efforts (The Ministry of Education, 2023). Therefore, the current research examines teachers’ attitudes toward inclusive education of students with hearing loss in the context of the new Vision 2030 of Saudi Arabia’s education initiatives. It also examines the demographic variables that influence teachers’ attitudes toward inclusion. The study seeks to investigate teachers’ strategies to accommodate students with hearing loss in the regular school classroom. Finally, the study seeks to determine how well teachers feel supported as they seek to include students with hearing loss in the regular school classroom. The study uses a mixed methodology, which includes a quantitative survey and qualitative semi-structured interviews. Three hundred and seventy-two participants responded to the quantitative survey, while ten teachers were involved in the qualitative interviews. Participants were both general and specialist teachers from regular primary schools in Taif, Saudi Arabia. SSPS descriptive analysis and ANOVA statistical measures were used to answer the first and second research questions. In addition, thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006, 2019, 2021) was utilised to answer the third and fourth questions of the semi-structured interviews. The study’s SSPS descriptive analysis findings revealed that, overall, teachers in Taif hold negative attitudes toward inclusion for students with hearing loss in the regular school classrooms. In addition, the SPSS ANOVA measures found that age, training, experience working in inclusive settings, and teachers’ subjects influenced teachers’ attitudes toward including students with hearing loss. However, the teacher’s gender and years of teaching did not appear to influence participants’ attitudes toward including students with hearing loss in the regular school classroom. The qualitative semi-structured interviews were utilised to answer Research Questions Three and Four. The thematic analyses used to interpret data generated six themes: type of accommodation, teachers’ strategies, teachers’ experience and attitudes, inclusion barriers, elements for successful inclusion, and teachers’ recommendations. Themes One and Two provided answers for Research Questions Three, while Themes Three, Four, Five and Six provided answers for Research Question Four. Furthermore, the study found that male and female students are accommodated differently in schools in Taif. Male students were accommodated in segregated classrooms, while female students were accommodated in the regular school classrooms with their hearing peers. Teachers Favour sign language, lip reading, and assistive technology when teaching students with hearing loss. In addition, teachers also reported using various other methods to enhance learning. These methods included student response cards, role-play learning, cooperative learning, the one-minute paper strategy, and the learning schedule. However, some of these methods may not always suit students with hearing loss. Therefore, teachers must be trained to implement these methods for students with hearing loss in regular school classrooms. They must then carefully consider the abilities and needs of the students before implementing the appropriate methods. Moreover, teachers felt unsupported when implementing inclusion in regular schools due to a lack of inclusive education training, lack of inclusion implementation guidance, and the unprepared school environments. Teachers felt unsupported by the Ministry of Education to facilitate the inclusion of students with hearing loss in Taif’s regular schools’ classrooms. Teachers highlighted numerous fundamental aspects of successful inclusion, such as evidence based inclusive approaches, training, inclusion plans, class size, and school readiness to implement inclusive education effectively. Teachers recommended that students with profound hearing loss remain in segregated classes in the regular schools where they are taught by special education teachers who use sign language, while other students with less severe hearing loss should join the regular school classroom