Saudi Special Education Preservice Teachers’ Perspective towards Inclusion

In Saudi Arabia, students with disabilities have historically received education in special and segregated schools. As times progressed, regulations and laws changed the manner in which students with disabilities were served. Regulations order that students with disabilities be educated in the least restrictive environment; however, preservice teachers’ perspectives continue to differ in regard to working with students with disabilities in a general education setting. Research has shown that teachers who portray positive attitudes towards inclusion are more likely to work with students with disabilities in an inclusive classroom (Dev & Hayes, 2015). Today, inclusion has occurred in schools around the country; it is the educator’s responsibility to modify instruction in order to teach all students in the inclusive classroom. In order to investigate preservice teachers’ perspective toward inclusion in Saudi Arabia, this study used interviews with seven preservice teachers from the University of Umm Al-Qura. Six major themes emerged from the interview data, which represent Saudi special education preservice teachers’ perspectives toward inclusion, reasons for their perspective and recommendations including (1) negative perspective toward inclusion, (2) reasons related to students with disabilities’ condition and personality, (3) reasons related to the university, (4) reasons related to schools, (5) demand for more hands-on experience, (6) need to spread awareness among in-service teachers, principal, staff and community. Findings of the study and aspects related to the preservice teachers’ perspectives are discussed in detail, as well as implications of the findings and recommendations for future research