Parental Attitudes Towards Educational Placement of Their Children with Intellectual Disabilities in Regular Schools

Abstract

Inclusive education is an emerging trend at the global level. Children with intellectual disabilities (CWIDs), if included in mainstream schools, may have rich experiences with their peers without disabilities in regular schools to become active members of society. In Pakistan, there is a small number of CWIDs in regular schools who are largely unsupported. The focus of the study is to collect the perceptions of parents regarding inclusive processes such as curriculum adaptations, accommodation of individual needs, collaboration and socialization of children with intellectual disabilities in inclusive settings. This study was conducted to unfold the perceived parental attitudes towards the educational placement of their CWIDs in regular schools. The population of the study was parents of the CWIDs. Data were collected from 150 parents of the CWIDs studying in different special schools in Lahore by using a purposive sampling technique. The reliability (Cronbach Alpha) of the questionnaire was 0.80. The results of the study indicate that most of the parents want the educational placement of their CWIDs in regular schools for better learning, socialization and grooming of academic skills. It was concluded that parents considered inclusive education as the best placement for their children with intellectual disabilities. With such parental support, the government should change the policy for the implementation of inclusive education.