Examining faculty's attitudes towards inclusive education for university students with special educational needs (SENs) in Singapore

• Main Author: Syazwan Bin Zainal Shah
• Other Authors: Darren Yeo
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: Nanyang Technological University 2023
• Subjects: Social sciences::Psychology
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/165920
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Despite an increase in the enrollment of university students with special educational needs (SENs), many university students with SENs are still unable to complete higher education. This study seeks to examine faculty’s attitudes towards inclusive education for university students with SENs, which is cited as the most common institutional barrier for students with SENs to achieve equitable success in higher education. A cross-sectional survey design was adopted, where the Faculty Attitude toward Inclusive Education for Students with Special Educational Needs (FAISEN) Scale was constructed and sent to faculty (e.g., Professors) from the six autonomous universities in Singapore (e.g., Nanyang Technological University). Findings revealed that faculty have significantly positive attitudes towards inclusive education for university students with SENs, particularly in the cognitive and behavioral domains, and significantly negative attitudes in the affective domain (i.e., faculty’s belief about their own competence in managing students with SENs) when compared to a neutral attitude represented by the mean of a six-point Likert scale. Age, prior disability related training, and prior teaching experience with students with SENs were found to have significant associations with faculty attitudes, where age remains a significant predictor for affective attitudes even after controlling for prior disability related training, and prior teaching experience. Faculty also expressed preference for face-to-face workshops that were more practical and specialized, and indicated a higher need for training on how to provide inclusive education for students with social or communication difficulties, learning or language disorders, and attention difficulties. Implications, limitations, and directions for future research are also discussed. Keywords: Inclusive Education, Special Educational Needs, University, Faculty, Attitude, Higher Education, Singapore