Browsing by Author "ALOBEIDLI, AMNA"

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    An investigative study of the factors affecting the attitudes of female Emirati teachers toward the inclusion of students with intellectual disabilities in the government primary schools in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates
    (The British University in Dubai (BUiD), 2017-07) ALOBEIDLI, AMNA
    This study investigates the factors affecting the attitudes of Emirati female teachers in the government primary schools in Dubai toward the inclusion of students with intellectual disabilities. The study has used a triangulation of methods including quantitative and qualitative methods. The study answered three research questions on identifying teachers’ attitudes, identifying factors affecting attitudes and getting teachers’ recommendations to improve the current inclusive practice. The findings of the study suggested that inclusive education in Dubai and the UAE in general needs improvement. Most teachers in the study showed negative attitudes toward inclusion in general. Many of them expressed clearly their disagreement to including children with intellectual disabilities in their regular classes. The findings showed that there are numbers of factors affecting these attitudes. One of the main factors was the lack of training as most of the participants did receive adequate training prior to the implementation of inclusion. Other factors also included the increasing teachers’ workload, the low teachers’ self-efficacy, the lack of school support and the insufficient resources and provisions. In addition, the type of disabilities and the social stigma also seemed to affect the teachers’ attitudes. The study concluded that to have a successful inclusion, teachers’ attitudes need to be more positive. Hence, policy makers should pay attention to the factors associated with these attitudes. The study also provided a set of recommendations to improve inclusive practices based on the findings.