장애유아 통합교육 효과에 대한 현장 교사의 인식 = Perceptions on the Effectiveness of Inclusion of Young Children with Disabilities among Early Childhood Education and Early Childhood Special Education Teachers

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

The purpose of this study was to investigate the teachers’ general perceptions with regard to the effectiveness of the inclusion of young children with disabilities. A survey approach using a self-rating scale was employed for this research. The survey involved 135 kindergarten teachers who responded out of 230 who were invited to participate from inclusive and segregated kindergarten programs across the nation. The survey questionnaire consisted of 17 questions in three areas. The data were analyzed using one way analysis of variance to investigate the differences between various groups. Groups were classified according to types of program, types of certification, and years of inclusive teaching experience.
The results were as follows:
1. It was found that the teachers have high levels of perceptions on improvement of children’ attitudes toward their peers with disabilities. In particular, the teachers of segregated classrooms and teachers with experience in inclusive education demonstrated higher levels of perceptions compared to teachers in other groups.
2. It was found that the teachers have moderate levels of perceptions on improvement of social development among children without disabilities. The differences between groups according to types of program, types of certification, and years of inclusive teaching experience were not found to be statistically significant.
3. It was found that the teachers have moderate levels of perception on improvement of social development among children with disabilities through the inclusion. The differences between groups according to types of program, types of certification, and years of inclusive teaching experience were not found to be statistically significant.
4. It was also found that the teachers have moderate levels of perceptions on improvement of academic learning among children with disabilities. In particular, the teachers of segregated kindergarten programs demonstrated higher levels of perceptions compared to teachers in other groups. The differences between groups according to types of certification and years of inclusive teaching experience were not found to be statistically significant.
5. It was found that the teachers have moderate levels of perceptions on improvement in collaboration among teachers for developing educational plans and implementing curriculums. It was found that teachers with more than three years teaching experience in inclusive classrooms demonstrated higher levels of perceptions than teachers with less than three years of experience.
6. It was found that the teachers have relatively low levels of perceptions on improvement in organizing collaborative teams. The differences between groups according to types of certification and years of inclusive teaching experience were not found to be statistically significant.
It was found that the teachers have moderate levels of perceptions on improvement in co-teaching. It was found that teachers with certification in early childhood special education demonstrated higher levels of perceptions than teachers with different certifications.