The perceptions of the newly recruited public school teachers about inclusive education in Northern Sindh

Current discourse in education has focused on creating systems of education, which can meet the individual needs irrespective of any marker of discrimination.In this regard, literature mostly talked about inclusive education. Despite being abundantly discussed in literature, inclusive education is rarely explored and discussed in northern Sindh. Keeping the importance and need of the topic in mind, I intended to explore the perceptions of newly recruited teachers from Sukkur and Khairpur districts about inclusive education. Quantitative cross-sectional survey design guided the research process and data were collected through “My Thinking about Inclusion” online inventory. The data were collected from 213 newly recruited teachers of Sukkur and Khairpur. The data were analyzed through descriptive statistics and factor analysis to answer the research question and validate the questionnaire in the context. The findings of study indicated that newly recruited teachers of northern Sindh hold positive perceptions about inclusive education. They feel inclusive education is beneficial for parents of students with disabilities and typically developing students. They also showed hope for positive outcomes of inclusive classroom. Despite benefits, they raised concerns for classroom management and instructional support. Moreover, factor analysis showed different factors within the My Thinking about Inclusion (MTAI) subscales. The results of this study have implications for different stakeholders such as policy makers and curriculum developers. Further studies are recommended to gain insights of contextual understanding of inclusive education