Attitudes of teachers towards the inclusion of students with disabilities

The Croatian education system encourages the inclusion of students with disabilities into the standard school system. However. The most important role in the success of these students is played by the teachers. Since the term disabilities includes congenital and acquired impairments it is extremely difficult for teachers to successfully conduct the inclusion because they are often not trained enough to work with students with disabilities. Therefore, the main tasks of this research were to determine how often teachers encounter students with disabilities, to evaluate the teachers varying degrees of satisfaction with working conditions and to determine the relevance of the different responses given by teacher based on their gender, school location, work experience, whether they are form or single-subject teachers, professional qualification and the number of students with disabilities in their classes. 109 teachers in four elementary schools in Split-Dalmatia County took part in this research: 45 form teachers and 65 single-subject teachers. The results show that both form teachers and single-subject teachers often encounter students with disabilities in their classrooms. Although all teachers support the inclusion of students with disabilities, form teachers show a greater satisfaction with the available working conditions allocated them when working with students with disabilities. Variables of teachers’ gender, working experience, professional qualifications and the number of students with disabilities in class do not affect the level of satisfaction when working with students with disabilities. This paper can serve as a catalyst for future research as the determining predictor in the succesful implementation of inclusion as a modern teaching practice.