The purpose of this study was to examine how kindergarten teachers perceived preschool integrated education for the disabled and what attitude they took toward it in a bid to help improve kindergarten performance about integrated education.
It's spec...
The purpose of this study was to examine how kindergarten teachers perceived preschool integrated education for the disabled and what attitude they took toward it in a bid to help improve kindergarten performance about integrated education.
It's specifically meant to look into to what extent kindergarten teachers were aware of the conception of preschool integrated education, what professional qualifications they had in that regard and what they expected from integrated education in association with the academic performance and behaviors of disabled preschoolers. The subjects in this study were teachers at public and private kindergartens in south Gyeongsang province, on whom a survey was conducted.
The instrument used in this study was Larivee and Cook(1979)'s Questionnaire, which was graded on a Likert scale, and reverse operation was employed to calculate their total scores. The reliability of the instrument was tested by using Cronbach's alpha, and t-test was utilized to see if their general characteristics made any differences to their conceptual awareness of integrated education, their expertise and their expectations for integrated education in terms of the academic performance and behaviors of the disabled.
The brief findings of the study were as follows:
First, concerning their conceptual awareness of integrated education, their collective average showed that they viewed it favorably, and their general characteristics made no significant differences to that.
As for their detailed recognition of integrated education, they believed that integrated education would be most effective in letting non-disabled young children be more receptive to differences between them and disabled children. But more than half the teachers thought non-disabled children would be disregarded, and they gave an average support to integrated education. Thus, they were cognizant of the positives of integrated education, but on the other hand, they weren't totally for it because they feared non-disabled preschoolers might be placed in a disadvantageous position.
Second, regarding their expertise, their collective average was low. Their professional qualifications were significantly different according to their experiences in special education training and integrated education. Those who had ever undergone training in special education were better qualified than the others who hadn't, and those who had ever conducted integrated education excelled those who hadn't.
Third, as to their academic and behavioral expectations for physically challenged preschoolers, they didn't expected a lot from them, and their general characteristics made no differences to that. But they found it more advisable for them to receive separate education rather than integrated one.
The findings of the study suggested that the kindergarten teachers didn't assent to integrated education a lot. It seemed because integrated education wasn't yet on the right track, and another reason seemed that time constraints that was rooted in oversized classes and heavy workload other than academic education made it difficult for them to pay enough attention to each disabled child. It's required to improve the given educational conditions and to provide information on integrated class management and relevant fields.
More substantial, practical preschool integrated education planning was called for, and teachers should get training in special education. Regular kindergarten teachers should receive more intensive education about integrated education in advance to enrich their field experience and teaching ability. The types of programs that could be helpful for both disabled and non-disabled children should be prepared to incorporate special education into regular education.
Since only the public and private kindergarten teachers from south Gyeongsang province were examined, the findings of the study might not be generalizable. The geographic scope of future research efforts should be extended to cover every part of the nation.