Teacher's Beliefs, Values and Teaching Practices and Culture of Inclusion in Classrooms: a Hermeneutic Pehonomenological Study

Abstract

Implementation of inclusive education involves changes in educational policy and practice through the incorporation of inclusive values in the belief systems of the major partners and leaders in the school settings. A review of the literature indicates that sustainable change and development is more likely when the stakeholders hold such values and incorporate them in their practices to create a culture of inclusion. Inclusive cultures have relevance for everyone in the school and cannot be limited to a specific group of students creating yet another ghetto within the mainstream school and leading to exclusion in the name of inclusion. Despite the importance of the beliefs, values and practices of the teachers in relation to the culture of inclusion, the relation of beliefs to inclusive cultures had not been studied in the Czech Republic. Some studies did investigate teachers' attitudes towards inclusion of children with disabilities in the mainstream schools but none of the studies investigated the beliefs, values and practices in relation to the culture of inclusion. This study was designed to investigate the views of teachers practicing inclusion. The teachers were asked to reflect and describe their beliefs, values and teaching practices that contributed to creating cultures of inclusion in their...

Implementation of inclusive education involves changes in educational policy and practice through the incorporation of inclusive values in the belief systems of the major partners and leaders in the school settings. A review of the literature indicates that sustainable change and development is more likely when the stakeholders hold such values and incorporate them in their practices to create a culture of inclusion. Inclusive cultures have relevance for everyone in the school and cannot be limited to a specific group of students creating yet another ghetto within the mainstream school and leading to exclusion in the name of inclusion. Despite the importance of the beliefs, values and practices of the teachers in relation to the culture of inclusion, the relation of beliefs to inclusive cultures had not been studied in the Czech Republic. Some studies did investigate teachers' attitudes towards inclusion of children with disabilities in the mainstream schools but none of the studies investigated the beliefs, values and practices in relation to the culture of inclusion. This study was designed to investigate the views of teachers practicing inclusion. The teachers were asked to reflect and describe their beliefs, values and teaching practices that contributed to creating cultures of inclusion in their...