scholarly journals Inclusive Higher Education in United Arab Emirates: Will Perceived Knowledge of Inclusion Impact Positively on University Students’ Attitudes Towards Learning With Peers With Disabilities?

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammed Alzyoudi ◽  
Maxwell Peprah Opoku ◽  
Ashraf Moustafa

Inclusive education is widely acknowledged as useful in promoting the involvement of all students. One core objective for the implementation of inclusive education is to promote acceptance and peaceful co-existence between students with disabilities and typically developing peers in classrooms. Since 2006, the federal government of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has developed policies aimed at achieving inclusive education at all academic levels. However, the link between typically developing students’ perceived knowledge of inclusive education and their attitudes towards their peers with disabilities is understudied in the UAE context, especially at the university level; hence, this study aspired to assess those views. A revised Chedoke-McMaster Attitudes towards Children with Handicaps (CATCH) scale was adapted and completed by 233 university students. The data were subjected to a t-test, an analysis of variance (ANOVA), and linear regression. The findings showed feelings of negativity towards peers with disabilities. Interestingly, those who indicated they were unaware of inclusive policies held more positive perceptions of their peers with disabilities than those who stated otherwise. The study’s limitations, recommendations for future research, and implications for policymaking and practices are also discussed.

2016 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Julisah Izar ◽  
Siti Aisah Ginting

This study dealt with the attitudes of university students of Batubara towards Batubara Malay language. The data were collected from 20 university students of Batubara in Medan. The instruments used for collecting the data were observation sheet, questionnaire sheet and depth interview. The data were analyzed by Moleong’s theory. The findings showed that the respondents’ attitudes were: 12 (60%) negative and 8 (40%) positive. The attitudes levels of university students included in negative and positive attitudes namely in: receiving 11 (55%) negative and 9 (45%) positive, responding 12 (60%) negative and 8 positive, valuing 10 (50%) negative and 10 (50%)  positive,  organizing 12 (60%) positive and 8 (40%) negative, and internalizing values 12 (60%) negative and 8 (40%) positive. The factors influenced the university students’ attitudes were language disloyalty 12 (60%) negative and 8 (40%) positive, language pride lack 14 (70%) negative and 7 (30%) positive, in the unawareness of the norms 11 (55%) negative and 9 (45%) positive. Bahasa Indonesia is dominantly spoken by the university students of Batubara in Medan which caused they have less frequency in using their Batubara Malay language with their friends who are from same region in Medan. Key words: Attitudes, University Students of Batubara, Batubara Malay Language


Mousaion ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dorothy Eneya ◽  
Dennis N. Ocholla ◽  
Bertha Janneke Mostert

This paper investigates the University of Zululand Library’s response to the university’s inclusive education agenda with respect to the accessibility of library services to students with disabilities. This was a qualitative study within the interpretive paradigm that used Michael Oliver’s social model of disability as an underpinning theory. Semi-structured interviews were used to collect data from students with disabilities and library staff. In addition, physical inspection of the library building was also conducted. Data analysis was done by thematic analysis. The study reveals that the University of Zululand Library services are not inclusive. Students with disabilities struggle to access library services. They faced such challenges as inaccessibility of library services, unavailability of resources in alternative formats and assistive technologies, and the lack of a disability policy. The study also found that the library faced the following challenges in providing services for students with disabilities: limited funding, a lack of staff awareness and training, the lack of a disability policy and a lack of collaboration. Formulating regulations to enforce the implementation of disability policy and legislation, developing institutional disability policies, and providing assistive technologies are critical in ensuring the accessibility of library services to students with disabilities at the University of Zululand. Unless students with disabilities have equal access to information, the university’s inclusive education agenda will remain a distant dream. Access to academic library services is critical to the full participation of students with disabilities in education. Likewise, inclusive university education can only be realised when students with disabilities have equal access to information. This aligns with the Sustainable Development Goals and the United Nations Convention on the Rights for Persons with Disabilities, which promote equal access to services and facilities to persons with disabilities. This paper raises awareness for both library staff and university management about the current status of library facilities and services with respect to accessibility for students with disabilities and how to address inclusiveness in library service provision.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Naeem Afzal

Proficiency in English language depends on the knowledge of its vocabulary possessed by the second and foreign language learners and even the native speakers. Though developing the vocabulary is vital, it poses several problems, especially, to non-native students of English. Students with a low vocabulary knowledge show weak academic performance in different courses related to the language skills, linguistics, literature, and translation at the university level of education. This study, in particular, aims to investigate the problems faced by English majors in learning the vocabulary at Prince Stattam bin Abdulaziz University (PSAU) in Saudi Arabia. It also puts forward some vocabulary-learning strategies to minimize the potential problems. The data consist of the responses of 100 student-participants (undergraduates) randomly picked up from five different levels (four, five, six, seven, and eight) of 4-Year BA English Program at PSAU. This quantitative study uses an online questionnaire, as an instrument, to collect the data. The results reveal that the English majors at PSAU face several problems in learning the vocabulary such as knowing the meanings of new words, pronouncing new words, using new words correctly, memorizing and spelling new vocabulary and so on. To its contribution, this study emphasizes the importance of learning the English vocabulary, draws students’ attention towards it, highlights the problems encountered by students, and raises their awareness of the vocabulary. Future research may explore teachers’ perspectives on students’ vocabulary-learning problems and instructional methods implemented to teach the vocabulary in English language classrooms.


2018 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 68-76 ◽  
Author(s):  
N.Y. Sorokin ◽  
T.G. Lukovenko

The readiness of the teaching staff of higher educational institutions for teaching and psychological and pedagogical support of students with disabilities is being considered. We emphasize that the personnel of the educational organization need special competence to work with persons with disabilities of various nosological groups. The issues of creating an accessible environment in the university were studied, the readiness of teachers to apply special educational technologies in the training of students with disabilities, to develop teaching and methodological materials; the ability to establish pedagogically appropriate relationships with students, and provide psychological and pedagogical support in matters of personal and professional self-determination. The results show a high degree of importance of special professional competencies for inclusive education. But, at the same time, teachers assess their own level of preparedness with students with disabilities as insufficient, which allowed to determine the main areas of work.


2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 37-44
Author(s):  
Elena G. Babich ◽  

This article presents an analysis of socio-psychological technologies and practical work on the problems of motivation to work and the promotion of employment of students with disabilities and health limitations throughout their studies at the university. The author describes various technologies for accompanying students at the university, from professional orientation to employment, focusing on the most successful practices. Offers practical solutions to improve the technologies of higher inclusive education, to create equal conditions for students with disabilities and people with disabilities in realizing their creative potential, in socialization, employment and entrepreneurship, in promoting the sociopsychological adaptation of students with disabilities in labor motivation and employment throughout training at the university.


2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zachary Y. Mngo ◽  
Agnes Y. Mngo

The opinions of general education secondary school teachers in seven select schools involved in a pilot inclusive education program in the Northwest Region of Cameroon were sought. The findings reveal that most teachers in Cameroon still prefer separate special education institutions to inclusive ones. These conclusions contradict earlier research which showed that resistance to integrated classrooms was emanating from beliefs and customs. Teachers with some training on teaching students with disabilities and more experienced and highly educated teachers were more supportive of inclusive education indicating that resistance to the practice is linked to inadequate or complete lack of teachers’ preparedness. Younger, less experienced teachers with no training in special education indicated less enthusiasm regarding the benefits of inclusion, their ability to manage integrated classrooms, and teach students with disabilities. The implication of these findings for future research, institutional support systems, institutional policies, and overall instructional leadership is discussed in this article.


Author(s):  
Silvia L. Braidic

This paper introduces the reader on how to foster successful learning communities to meet the diverse needs of university students by creating a brain based online learning environment. Students come in all shapes and sizes. At the university level, students enrolled in online programs, have made a choice to do so. Today, online education is a unique and important venue for many students wishing to continue (or start) their education. It is part of a new culture with many distinct characteristics (Farrell, 2001). For instructors, online instruction creates its own set of challenges in terms of the course design and implementation. The author hopes that developing an understanding of how to create a brain based online learning environment will inform the reader of ways to foster successful learning communities to most effectively meet the diverse needs of the students it serves.


2019 ◽  
Vol 70 ◽  
pp. 10012
Author(s):  
Marina Skuratovskaya ◽  
Inna Volodina ◽  
Larisa Kobrina ◽  
Nadezhda Manohina

Higher education is one of the conditions of independent life for disabled people, a condition of their social and labor rehabilitation. Health problems are not the only serious obstacles to vocational education. No less important are the barriers in the educational environment of the University and barriers in relationships with others. It is noted that most of the difficulties in the learning process of students with disabilities are associated with their psychological characteristics - the presence of negative experiences and attitudes, the level of self-esteem, the features of life orientations. Depending on the severity of psychological characteristics, different variants of the relationship of students with disabilities with other students are possible: from full integration to disintegration and opposition behavior. It was suggested that the nature of the relationship and especially value-semantic readiness for vocational education in higher inclusive education can largely determine the prospects of personal and professional development of students with disabilities. An empirical study of peculiarities of value orientations of students with disabilities (N = 50) and students without disabilities (N = 50) was conducted using the technique of G. N. Kuznetsova on the General self-identity, self-esteem scale of Rosenberg and test of life-meaningful orientations D. A. Leontiev.


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