Teacher’s Attitude towards Inclusive Education in Tanzanian Primary Schools: A Case of Iringa District

Abstract

The study sought to establish teacher’s attitude towards inclusive education in Tanzanian primary schools: A case of Iringa District using the qualitative approach and a case study design. The population of the study was primary school teachers of whom a total sample of 36 respondents was selected in the following distribution: 30 primary school teachers and 6 head teachers. Thirty (30) primary school teachers were selected through simple random sampling while three (6) heads of schools were purposely selected. The study employed semi-structured interview and focus group discussion (FGD) as instruments to obtain data which was analyzed thematically. The study established that while school heads had positive attitude toward inclusive education, teachers had a limited understanding of what inclusive education actually is as they considered it as simply combining disabled learners in the mainstream classes. Teachers had negative attitude toward inclusive education as they believe that having a mixture of students with behavioral challenges and learning disabilities makes the class not easily manageable. Based on the conclusions, it is recommended that the government should conduct capacity building seminars and workshops in which teachers can gain knowledge and appropriate skills on how to have challenged learners included in the mainstream classrooms. Finally, administration of schools need to ensure availability of appropriate teaching and learning resources for inclusive classrooms so that learners of various kinds may be met at the points of their needs during the teaching and learning sessions in the mainstream classrooms.