ERIC Number: EJ1020083
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2013
Pages: 12
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1555-6913
EISSN: N/A
Implementation Strategies of Inclusive Education in Cypriot Classrooms
Angelides, Panayiotis; Hajisoteriou, Christina
Journal of the International Association of Special Education, v14 n1 p22-33 Spr 2013
This research examined the implementation strategies used by the participant teachers in order to practice inclusion in their classrooms. To this end, we investigated the participant teachers' perceptions of their roles and the barriers faced in the implementation of inclusion. Interviews and observations were carried out with four teachers in Cyprus over a period of one year. The current study provides mounting evidence that the implementation of educational strategies promoting inclusion is not an easy affair. On the contrary, it is a difficult and complex procedure beset with obstacles. Our data analysis illustrated that specific factors contributed to the four teachers' efforts to provide inclusion, including teachers' perceptions regarding the ways in which learning is achieved; the ways these perceptions were implemented in practice; and the use of multiple resources for supporting teaching and learning. In parallel, specific factors acted as barriers in the teachers' efforts to provide inclusion, including the school cultures and the policies of the Ministry of Education as mediated by the school inspectors. We concluded that teaching in informal learning environments, social learning, and active parental involvement may promote all students' active participation and inclusion.
Descriptors: Classroom Techniques, Program Implementation, Foreign Countries, Educational Strategies, Inclusion, Teacher Role, Barriers, Interviews, Teacher Attitudes, Educational Resources, Educational Policy, Teacher Participation, Elementary School Teachers, Observation, Regular and Special Education Relationship, Teaching Methods, School Culture, Learning Processes
International Association of Special Education. c/o College of Education, Northern Arizona University, P.O. Box 5774, Flagstaff, AZ 86011-5774. Tel: 928-523-8979; Fax: 928-523-1929; Web site: http://iase.coe.nau.edu/index3.html
Publication Type: Reports - Research; Journal Articles
Education Level: Elementary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Cyprus
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A