Date of Conferral

2017

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Psychology

Advisor

Patricia Loun

Abstract

Inclusion of children with special education needs into public classrooms in United Arab Emirates applied in 2006. The application of inclusion programs started in high schools, and followed by elementary schools and preschools. Teachers' attitudes toward inclusion evaluated among high school and elementary teachers but not among preschool teachers. The effect of the cultural background of teaching staff on inclusion education not evaluated in a UAE preschool. The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the effect of educational specialty and culture on teachers' attitudes toward an inclusion education system in United Arab Emirates. The theory of planned behavior of Ajzan (1991) used in this study to explain teachers' attitudes. This quantitative study evaluated teachers' attitudes toward inclusion education through a distributed questionnaire, including a demographics form and a STATIC scale for evaluating teachers' attitudes. A two-factor ANOVA used to test the effects of teachers' specialty and cultural background on STATIC scores. Findings showed a main effect of preschool teachers' cultural identity on their attitudes toward inclusion education. Teachers with Asian identity showed better attitudes toward inclusion education than Gulf identity or African identity teachers. No differences found between preschool teachers' specialty (general and special education teachers) on their attitudes toward inclusion education. This study will contribute to social change by providing valuable knowledge about UAE preschool teachers' attitudes toward the application of inclusion education to improve the inclusion classrooms settings and environment.

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