Inclusion through the eyes of primary school teachers and teacher assistants

This thesis examines the attitudes of teachers and special needs assistants in basic schools towards inclusive education. Specifically, it investigates what opinions do they have about inclusion of special needs student into regular schools, if they feel competent enough in dealing with those students, how they evaluate mutual cooperation, or what kind of behaviour of regular students towards their special needs classmates do they observe. The thesis is comprised of two parts. The theoretical part lays out the concepts of inclusion, special needs student, classroom climate, and discusses the requirements and demands on the teachers and special needs assistants. The practical part presents original research in double design - a quantitative research in the form of a survey, enriched by a qualitative aspect provided by in-depth interviews, which help to enlighten the perception of inclusive education of the actors and their mutual cooperation. The answers of the teachers and special needs assistants are compared since they differ substantially