THE SPECIAL NEEDS EDUCATION TEACHERS’ EXPERIENCES OF TEACHING IN INCLUSIVE CLASSROOMS IN PUBLIC SECONDARY SCHOOLS

Abstract

This study explored the primary school trained SNE teachers‟ experiences of teaching in inclusive classrooms in some selected public secondary schools in Blantyre district, Malawi. These SNE teachers were initially trained to teach at primary school level. Besides having a teaching qualification in primary education level, they were also trained in SNE and were later deployed to teach and assist learners with disabilities in public secondary schools. Purposeful sampling techniques were used to sample the participants in the study. In total, eight participants were selected. One-to-one interviews with the eight participants were conducted using an in-depth interview guide. Data were analyzed using the interactive phenomenological analysis. In general, the findings of the SNE teachers‟ experience of teaching in inclusive classrooms revealed that for inclusive education to be successful there is need for educators to become more aware of the experiences of the SNE teachers who are the focal point in the implementation of inclusive education. The research participants were generally found to have positive attitudes towards inclusive education. These findings were similar to the results of international studies, which pointed out that the attitude toward inclusion is determined by the teacher's experiences in inclusive settings and the type of disability found. Furthermore, the research participants also unearthed the challenges such as lack of support from all the stake holders, lack of training in all the categories of special needs, and an understanding that inclusion requires teamwork between SNE teachers and regular teachers.