Attitudes of Greek parents of typically developing kindergarten children towards inclusive education |
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| Authors: | Eufimia Tafa George Manolitsis |
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| Institution: | Department of Pre-school Education, Laboratory of Educational Research and Applications, University of Crete, Greece |
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| Abstract: | The purpose of this study was to examine the attitudes of Greek parents of typically developing children towards kindergarten inclusion. Two hundred and ninety parents (208 mothers, 82 fathers) participated in this study, who had at least one typically developing pre-school child falling within a 48- to 72-month age range and attending a public non-inclusive kindergarten programme. Parents' attitudes towards kindergarten inclusion were assessed by two 5-point Likert scales and two open-ended questions. On the first scale parents were asked to indicate their degree of agreement on different aspects of inclusion, and on the second scale parents were asked to indicate their degree of concern, when in their own child's classroom, children with various types of special educational needs were included. Results indicated that: (a) Greek parents had positive attitudes towards inclusive education, (b) the more the frequency of the parent's contact with individuals with special needs, the less their concern on their child's inclusion, (c) parents' attitudes did not differ in the positiveness according to their gender and their educational level and (d) parents seem to recognize more benefits than drawbacks for their children's participation in inclusive programmes. |
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| Keywords: | Inclusion inclusive education kindergarten attitudes parents |
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