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ECCE teachers’ attitudes in Ireland towards including children with special educational needs

Garrity, Sheila orcid logoORCID: 0000-0003-1267-7468 and Hanley, Helen orcid logoORCID: 0000-0001-9851-9609 (2022) ECCE teachers’ attitudes in Ireland towards including children with special educational needs. ECCE teachers’ attitudes in Ireland towards including childrenwith special educational needs, 43 (4). pp. 683-701. ISSN 0332-3315

Abstract
Significant international attention has been paid to teachers’ attitudes and the variables affecting them, as these are considered crucial for successful inclusive education. This article reports on an investigation of Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) teachers’ attitudes to the inclusion of children with special educational needs (SEN) in Ireland, and whether attitudes are affected by personal or setting characteristics, including State funded interventions. Until the recent development of the Access & Inclusion Model (AIM), children with a disability had variable access to the universally funded ECCE Scheme. Teachers in a random sample of 1,725 ECCE services across Ireland were surveyed, using an established attitude scale, yielding 173 responses. Statistical analysis found teachers with special-education qualifications have more positive attitudes. Teachers perceiving their inclusive experience as successful also have more positive attitudes, as have those who think buying in assistance is feasible with AIM funding. However, teachers unsure whether AIM improves their service’s ability to include children with SEN have more negative attitudes. This study highlights the need to address the AIM in-class assistance model, teacher qualifications/training and successful inclusive experiences, to protect the positive attitudes which are critical to inclusive practice.
Metadata
Item Type:Article (Published)
Refereed:Yes
Uncontrolled Keywords:Attitudes; ECCE; teachers; inclusion; SEN
Subjects:Social Sciences > Education
Social Sciences > Teaching
DCU Faculties and Centres:DCU Faculties and Schools > Institute of Education > School of Language, Literacy, & Early Childhood Education
Research Institutes and Centres > Early Childhood Research Centre (ECRC)
Publisher:Taylor & Francis
Official URL:https://doi.org/10.1080/03323315.2022.2135567
Copyright Information:Authors
ID Code:33041
Deposited On:24 Jul 2026 10:31 by Aaron Barry . Last Modified 24 Jul 2026 10:31
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