Teachers’ perceptions toward the education of students with special needs: a study in the north of Portugal

Abstract

In our days not only teachers and parents hope for the schools to become inclusive, but all the society seems to understand and advocate for this need. However, when we talk about inclusion are we thinking about the same thing? Do we have the same perception of the needs, so that inclusion can really happen? In order to answers these questions a study was conducted using a questionnaire whose main objective was to understand how teachers understand and perceive the education of the pupils with Special Educational Needs (SEN). 249 teachers participated in the study, all from elementary schools located in Braga, Northern Portugal. The questionnaire had 25 items, divided into three main clusters: (1) Attitudes; (2) Resources; and (3) Collaboration. The results showed significant differences between some of the items and the variables gender, academic qualifications and professional experience. Based on these results, this research indicates that, although participants recognize that it is important to implement the philosophy of inclusion in Portugal, it is necessary to provide more training for all individuals involved in the education of students with SEN. They also indicated that there is a lack of specialized human resources needed to provide quality educational responses for the abovementioned students.