scholarly journals Barriers of the Inclusion of Children with Special Educational Needs in Mainstream Classes from Pre-service Teachers’ Viewpoints

2021 ◽  
Vol 45 (3) ◽  
pp. 302-341

This study aims to investigate the barriers towards inclusion of children identified as having SEN in mainstream classes in Kuwait as seen by 452 pre-service teachers at the College of Basic Education. The researchers used a mixed-methods design that involved both an open-ended questionnaire and focus group. Each method investigated dimensions of the barriers towards inclusion in Kuwait as well as the SEN categories that participants believed would be most or least possible to include in mainstream classes. It was found that there are five different dimensions of possible barriers to inclusion: barriers from teachers, social barriers, academic barriers, physical barriers, and psychological barriers. It also found that the SEN categories seen as most possible to include were: moderate intellectual disability, specific learning disabilities, and giftedness, respectively. On the other hand, the SEN categories seen as least possible to include were: severe needs, severe intellectual disability, and autism. The study suggested that the government should institute new courses to prepare pre-service teachers for the challenges, revealed by this research, which prospective teachers expect to face when teaching in inclusive schools. This could help teachers build up more positive attitudes towards inclusion. Therefore, colleges of education should develop their academic courses so that they take into account the findings of this study and work accordingly Keywords: Inclusion, students with SEN, barriers, Kuwait

Twejer ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 1255-1287
Author(s):  
Qismat M. Zahawi ◽  

Peer assessment refers to students assessing their peers' work and providing grades and/or feedback. This study investigates Kurdish EFL students' attitudes toward peer assessment. To this end, the peer assessment technique will be utilised in teaching academic writing to second-year students in the English Department, College of Basic Education. Participants will be trained on how to assess their peers' writing by using Jacobs et al 's (1981) writing scale as a descriptor grading model. This scale provides five subscales for evaluating a written paragraph, namely: content, organization, vocabulary, language use, and mechanics. After implementing this model for 16 weeks, the students have shown positive attitudes toward implementing peer assessment in their writing classes as a practical assessment technique.


2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 24
Author(s):  
Abdulmohsen A. Dashti

In the scope of teaching English as a foreign language, and more specifically teaching speaking, reading, and writing, this study investigated the attitudes English language teachers-to-be have towards the three language skills modules, namely, Conversation, Reading, and Basic writing, offered by the College of Basic Education (hereafter CBE) in Kuwait. It also investigated the concerns of staff members at the English department in CBE with regards to the matter. The study utilized two questionnaires, one distributed to the students’ population, i.e., English major students (the sample received was (N 385), and the other one distributed to all staff members in the English department in CBE (N 27). In addition, 20 students were randomly selected and interviewed to verify the questionnaires’ results. The data, then, were analysed both quantitatively and qualitatively. Percentages, means and standard deviations were calculated together with t test and ANOVA. Results showed that even though most students and staff members showed positive attitudes towards most of the questionnaires’ items, others were concerned about a few items.


2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 11
Author(s):  
Alenezi Nouf ◽  
Alqallaf Bader ◽  
Zainab Abbas

Inclusive education has become a global trend in the provision of services for students with disabilities. While attitudes towards inclusion have been studied widely in some countries, little research in this area has been conducted in Kuwait. This study responds to this need by researching pre-service teachers’ attitudes towards inclusive education. This study examined Kuwaiti pre-service teachers’ attitudes towards including students with Moderate Learning Difficulties (MLD) in general education classrooms. Questionnaires were distributed to 452 Kuwaiti pre-service male and female teachers at the College of Basic Education. Several factors, such as teachers’ knowledge, were found to be related to pre-service teachers’ attitudes towards inclusion. The results of the study indicated that, overall, Kuwaiti pre-service teachers hold positive attitudes towards inclusion.


2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 371
Author(s):  
Taybat I. Dewali ◽  
Lazgin K. Barany

This study aims at finding out the attitudes of non-English majors’ students at University of Duhok towards English language andearning, in general, and at University of Duhok in particular and exploring the reasons behind their attitudes. The study also investigates the differences in the participants' attitudes based on their major, gender, and studying level. For this purpose, a questionnaire mainly adopted from Gardner's (2004) "Attitude/Motivation Test Battery" was distributed to (259) students from six colleges affiliated to University of Duhok. These six colleges were divided into two groups: Sciences (College of Veterinary, College of Engineering, and College of Sciences) and Humanities (College of Law and Political Sciences, College of Economics and Administration, and College of Basic Education). The findings have revealed that students under study have expressed positive attitudes towards both the English language itself as a language and learning it as a subject of study. The study also has shown that there were no significant differences in the students' attitudes towards the study's variables due to gender and studying level, however, a significant difference based on the students' major was found.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 42-60
Author(s):  
Kavi S. Mohammed

Politeness is considered to promote effective interaction between people. In the process of language teaching and learning, it is believed to enhance learning by providing a lively and friendly atmosphere in the classroom (Jiang, 2010). During classroom periods, including class policy, activities, and techniques, a teacher’s language plays a critical role; it also plays an important role while giving academic instructions, motivating the class, and during the evaluation of a student’s performance and participation. This paper approaches classroom interaction from a pragmatic perspective by adopting Leech’s politeness principle and maxims. It aims to answer the following 2 questions: first, “what are the teachers’ attitudes toward the implementation of the politeness principle during classroom interactions?” and second, “what are the students’ attitudes toward the implementation of the politeness principle during classroom interactions?” To achieve the aims of this study by finding answers to the questions, the researcher prepared 2 sets of questionnaires: 1 for the teachers in the English Department and 1 for the fourth year students in the same department at the College of Basic Education, Salahaddin University-Erbil, Erbil, Iran, for the academic year of 2018 to 2019. By analyzing the data collected, it was found that both the teachers and students have positive attitudes toward the politeness maxims and the implementation thereof during classroom interactions; furthermore, there was agreement between the teachers’ and students’ responses to the questionnaires for most of the politeness maxims except in 3 cases, which were for the maxims of sympathy, obligation (S to O), and feeling reticence.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Wafaa Husain ◽  
Fatemah Ashkanani ◽  
Maryam A. Al Dwairji

Lack of nutrition knowledge may contribute to poor dietary practices. Schools are an ideal environment to address this issue and to start the process of nutrition education. Therefore, teachers should be equipped with adequate nutrition knowledge. This study was designed to evaluate the level of general nutrition knowledge and demographic variations in knowledge in a sample of students attending the College of Basic Education in Kuwait. A cross-sectional study was conducted using a modified and validated revised version of the General Nutrition Knowledge Questionnaire (GNKQ-R) for UK adults. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to determine the association between various factors and nutrition knowledge score. A total of five hundred and ninety-seven students completed the questionnaire. Most respondents (84.1%) had a poor level of nutrition knowledge using original Bloom’s cutoff points. Sex, BMI, cooking habits, and who is responsible for preparing food in the household were the main determinants of nutrition knowledge score at p  < 0.05. The mean score of the students was 40.06 ± 9.89 out of 84 points. Females scored significantly higher than males, at 41.10 ± 9.29 and 38.72 ± 10.48, respectively ( p  = 0.007). Students with a BMI of ≥30 achieved significantly greater scores (mean 42.30 ± 9.41) than those who were underweight, normal, or overweight ( p  < 0.001). Students who stated that they always cook their own food achieved significantly greater scores (mean 43.69 ± 9.58) than those who did not ( p  = 0.025). Students who stated that they depend on the housekeeper for food preparation achieved significantly lower scores (mean 38.86 ± 10.13) than those who prepare their own food or depend on their relatives to prepare food ( p  = 0.042). Poor nutrition knowledge was found among prospective teachers studying in the College of Basic Education. This must be rectified for the effective implementation of nutrition education programs in schools.


Author(s):  
Chiedza Simbo

Despite the recent enactment of the Zimbabwean Constitution which provides for the right to basic education, complaints, reminiscent of a failed basic education system, have marred the education system in Zimbabwe. Notwithstanding glaring violations of the right to basic education by the government, no person has taken the government to court for failure to comply with its section 75(1)(a) constitutional obligations, and neither has the government conceded any failures or wrongdoings. Two ultimate questions arise: Does the state know what compliance with section 75(1)(a) entails? And do the citizens know the scope and content of their rights as provided for by section 75(1)(a) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe? Whilst it is progressive that the Education Act of Zimbabwe as amended in 2020 has addressed some aspects relating to section 75(1)(a) of the Constitution, it has still not provided an international law compliant scope and content of the right to basic education neither have any clarifications been provided by the courts. Using an international law approach, this article suggests what the scope and content of section 75(1)(a) might be.


2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (33) ◽  
pp. 693-714
Author(s):  
. Muntaha Sabbar Jebur

          Peer teaching is a strategy that allows the students to teach the new content to each other, and they must be accurately guided by instructors.     The researcher proposes that the use of students peer teaching  may promote students' achievement  and ensure the engagement of all the students in the learning process. Therefore, the researcher employs it as a teaching method aiming at investigating its  effect on Iraqi EFL students' achievement in the course of Library and Research Work .      The study hypothesizes that there is no significant difference between the students' achievement who are taught library and research work by students peer teaching  and that of the students taught by the traditional way. The experimental design of the study is Parallel Groups, Random Assignment, posttest. Each group consists of 35 students, chosen randomly from the Third Year Students at the Department of English in the College of Basic Education. Both groups were matched in terms of their age and parents' education. The experiment was fulfilled in the first course for 15 weeks during the academic year 2016-2017.       The same materials were presented to both groups. This included   units from Writing Research Paper by Lester D. . Post-test was constructed and exposed  The t-test for  independent samples was used to analyze the results and it is found out that there is a statistical difference between the two groups in their achievement because the calculated t- value 2.635 is bigger than the tabulated t- value which is 2.000, and also shown the superiority of the experimental group. The results indicate that the experimental group, who was taught Library and Research Work by peer teaching   was better than the control group, who was taught according to the traditional way. So, the null hypothesis is rejected. Finally, some recommendations and suggestions are presented in the light of the study findings. to a jury of experts to verify its validity and it was administered to both groups.


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