EXAMINING UNIVERSITY FACULTY ATTITUDES TOWARDS INCLUDING COLLEGE STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES IN HIGHER EDUCATION fN THE UAE

Recent research indicated that the success of inclusion programs is dependent on teachers’ attitudes toward inclusion. Therefore, the objective of this study was fivefold as follows: i) investigating university faculty attitudes toward including college students with disabilities in higher education, ii) examining the impact of university faculty teaching experience and their previous contact with individuals with disabilities on their attitudes towards including college students with disabilities in higher education, iii) examining the impact of the severity of the disability on the university faculty attitudes toward including college students with disabilities in higher education, iv) investigating willingness of university faculty toward providing educational accommodations to college students with disabilities in higher education, and v) investigating the relationship between the university faculty attitudes and their Willingness to provide educational accommodation to college students with disabilities in higher education. A total of 125 university faculty participated in this study. Overall, the results of this study indicated that the university faculty attitudes toward including college students with disabilities were positive. Moreover, there was a significant difference in the extent of experience in teaching college students with disabilities on the attitudes of the university faculty. With respect to the previous contact, the findings of this study indicated that the university faculty with previous contact with individuals with disabilities holds higher positive attitudes than those who do not have the previous contact. Also, the findings of this study indicated university faculty hold more positive attitudes towards including college students with mild disabilities. And finally, there was a significant relationship between university faculty attitudes and their willingness towards providing educational accommodation for college students with disabilities. Recommendations for practice and future research are discussed in this study