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International Journal of Academic Research in Progressive Education and Development

Open Access Journal

ISSN: 2226-6348

The Influence of Special Education Training on Teachers’ Attitudes towards Inclusive Education: Case Study in Aceh Province, Indonesia

Istiarsyah ., Amir Hasan Dawi, Noor Aini Ahmad

http://dx.doi.org/10.6007/IJARPED/v8-i4/6901

Open access

Inclusive education as a primary education policy for students with special needs to create inclusive society and equal opportunities in education. The purpose of this study was to identify the attitude of Primary School teachers towards inclusive education in Aceh province. Attitude assessment consists of three aspects: cognitive, affective, and behavioral, and how special education training influence teachers' attitudes toward inclusive education. This study involved 399 primary school teachers. The results of the MANOVA test revealed there was a significant difference effect of teachers who have received in special education training on all aspects of attitude with the Wilks' Lambda ? value [F dk (3,395) = 0.909, sig = 0.000 p <0.05]. Whereas the results of the ANOVA analysis found there were a significant effect differences on two of the three aspects of attitude, there are in cognitive aspect [F dk (1,397) = 26.129, with sig = 0.000 p <0.05] and in behavioral aspect [F dk (1,397) = 35.360, with sig = 0.000 p <0.05], while there was no significant effect difference on the affective aspect [F dk (1,397) = 0.776, with sig = 0.379 p> 0.05]. The study concludes that special education training in inclusive education practices enhances teachers' confidence in their ability to work with special needs children as well as enhances their effectiveness in implementing classroom practices, which is a contributing factor to success in inclusive education. The implications of the study indicate that there is a need for improved training programs for teachers teaching in inclusive education schools in Aceh province so that inclusive education practices can work as determined by the Indonesian government.