Attitudes towards the inclusion of children with hearing impairments in regular educational institutions

Cilj ovog istraživanja bio je ispitati stavove odgojitelja i nastavnika prema uključivanju djece s oštećenjem sluha u redovne odgojno-obrazovne ustanove grada Zagreba, razlike u njihovim stavovima te povezanost tih stavova s godinama radnog staža, iskustvom u radu s djecom s oštećenjem sluha i dodatnim stručnim usavršavanjem za rad s djecom s oštećenjem sluha. Istraživanje je provedeno online te je u njemu sudjelovao ukupno 201 prosvjetni djelatnik u predškolskim i osnovnoškolskim ustanovama grada Zagreba. Rezultati pokazuju da odgojitelji i nastavnici imaju povoljne stavove prema odgojno-obrazovnom uključivanju djece s oštećenjem sluha te da odgojitelji iskazuju povoljnije stavove u odnosu na nastavnike. Odgojitelji i nastavnici koji su se dodatno stručno usavršavali za rad s djecom s oštećenjem sluha te oni s manje radnog staža imaju i povoljnije stavove prema određenim aspektima odgojno-obrazovnog uključivanja djece s oštećenjem sluha, dok se iskustvo u radu s djecom s oštećenjem sluha nije pokazalo značajno povezano s njihovim stavovima. Rezultati također upućuju na nedostatno osnovno i dodatno stručno usavršavanje za rad s djecom s oštećenjem sluha odgojitelja i nastavnika, osrednje zadovoljavajuću suradnju sa stručnim timom te neodgovarajuće uvjete rada u predškolskim i osnovnoškolskim ustanovama za uspješno odgojno-obrazovno uključivanje djece s oštećenjem sluha.The aim of this paper was to examine the attitudes of teachers towards the inclusion of children with hearing impairment into regular educational institutions in the city of Zagreb; the differences in their attitudes as well as the correlation of these attitudes with the teachers’ work experience, their experience in working with children with hearing impairment and their additional education and training in this respect. The research was conducted on-line and included 201 teachers in kindergartens and primary schools in the city of Zagreb. The results indicate that the teachers in general have a positive attitude towards the inclusion of children with hearing impairment; also that kindergarten teachers have a more favorable attitude towards inclusion compared to primary school teachers. The teachers with more on-the-job education preparing them for teaching children with hearing impairment as well as those with generally less work experience have a more positive attitude towards certain aspects of inclusive education of children with hearing impairment, while their experience in actual working with children with hearing impairment has not been found statistically significant different. The research results also point to teachers’ inadequate basic education and additional on-the-job training for teaching children with hearing impairment; to a barely satisfactory cooperation with expert teams as well as inadequate working conditions in kindergartens and school – all of the above obstructing successful inclusive education of children with hearing impairment