1. Ready to Include? Perceived Training Needs Among Mainstream Teachers in Sri Lanka
S. Hettiarachchi 1,2 , M. Ranaweera 3, A. Das 4 , T. Lokubalasooriya 1, D. Nonis 1 & S. Saleem 1
1. Department of Disability Studies, Faculty of Medicine, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2. Adjunct Lecturer, School of Psychology and Speech Pathology, Faculty of Health Sciences, Curtin University, Australia
3. English Language Teaching Unit, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka 4. Department of Adolescent, Career and Special Education, Murray State University, USA.
INTRODUCTION
Data collection procedures:
A self- administered survey questionnaire
titled Inclusion Competencies of Sri Lankan
Teachers (ICSLT), which is a modified
version of Inclusion Competencies of Indian
Teachers (ICIT)3
9 competency categories with 36 items on a
1- 4 Likert scale
Survey offered in all three languages
(Sinhala, Tamil and English)
Interviews with key informants using a topic
guide
Data analysis:
Survey questionnaire (ICSLT) analyzed using
descriptive and inferential statistics (SPSS
version 16)
Interview data analyzed using the key
principles of Framework Analysis 4
Ethical clearance from the ERC, Faculty
of Medicine, University of Kelaniya
Perceived skill levels of teachers
Teachers working in Special schools: mean
rating was above moderate-high perceived
competence in each category.
Table 02: Comparison of perceived skill levels of teachers
Interviews with key informants:
Main themes
Inclusive education offers a child with
special educational (SE) needs the right to
enroll in his/her local mainstream(MS) school
and be supported to reach their academic and
social potential. In the ‘global north’, it is seen
as a fundamental right of every child
with special educational needs.1 However, the
reality for many children with disabilities
in the ‘global south’ is limited or no
access at all to formal education.2
For the realistic introduction of inclusive
education in Sri Lanka, it is imperative to
uncover the local understandings of the concept
given its global north roots. It is also of
importance to identify the training needs of
teachers in order to provide specific pre-service
and in-service training to help teachers to
support children with disabilities within the
mainstream classroom.
Theme 1: Conflicting concepts
‘We don’t integrate the children for lessons’ * p1
‘Inclusion’ is when a child with disabilities is offered a place in a special unit’* p2
Theme 2: Lack of training and support services
‘We’ve heard of inclusive education although we are not entirely clear what it means’ *p5
‘There are no opportunities to learn more
(our) training was inadequate’ p6
Theme 3: Power and agency
‘We feel cut away from the main school’ *p7
‘Teachers get into special education as it is an easy way into the system’ *p6
Theme 4: Selfless vs. selfish
‘These special education teachers are inspiring. They really care about these children and not about themselves’*p8
‘It’s easier to get a special education teaching position’*p4
Lowest skills
Highest skills
SE teachers
Professional knowledge
Classroom climate
MS teachers
Goal setting and evaluation
A significant difference in the teachers’
perceived skills in 8 of the 9 competencies
(not professional Knowledge) between SE and MS
teachers
Teachers with training in special education
indicated significantly higher levels of skill
Teachers with more than 5 years of experience
Table 03: Comparison of the mean scores of competencies and participant characteristics
CONCLUSIONS & IMPLICATIONS
The need for a clearly defined inclusive
education policy.
Terminology needs to be agreed on at a policy-
level and filtered down (leaving room for
change with time)
Mandatory pre-service training should be
offered to all teachers incorporating
competencies identified as areas of concern
On-going in-service training on professional
knowledge and goal setting and evaluation
Limitations
Lack of teacher representation from across the
country
Need to address potential mismatch between
perceived skills and ‘real’ skills
OBJECTIVES
To uncover conceptual understandings of ‘inclusive education’ among Sri Lankan teachers
To uncover the perceived training needs among Sri Lankan teachers of children with special educational needs
RESULTS
Categories
< 40 years
(Mean score)
>40 years
Sig.
1. Age
3.46
3.28
0.009
Male
Female
2.Gender
3.32
3.63
0.000
MS teachers
SE teachers
3. SE training
2.69
3.52
< 5years
>5years
4. Working experience
3.03
3.60
Survey Questionnaire :
Table 01: Participants characteristics (155
teachers)
SE: Special education MS: Mainstream
Age
< 40years: 65%
> 40 years: 35%
Gender
Female :93%
Male: 7%
SE training
SE teachers: 79%
MS teachers: 5%
Working experience
< 5 years: 60%
>10 years: 40%
METHODOLOGY
References
1.Stephen Elias and Susan Levinkind, Legal Research: How to Find & Understand The Law,
14thed. (Berkeley: Nolo, 2005), 22
2. Eleweke, J. and Rodda, M. (2002).The challenge of enhancing inclusive education in
developing countries. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 6,
3. Shah, R. Das,. A, Desai, I. and Tiwari, A. (2013). Teachers' concerns about inclusive education
in Ahmedabad, India. Journal of Research in Special Educational Needs, DOI:  /1471-
4. Ritchie, J. and Spencer, L. (1994). Qualitative data analysis for applied policy research. In
Bryman A, Burgess R. (Eds.). Analysing Qualitative Data. London: Routledge.
Study design: Descriptive cross-sectional Mixed
method
Study participants : 155 teachers
Special school: 75%, Mainstream School: 25%