ATTITUDES OF PRESCHOOL EDUCATORS AND PRIMARY SCHOOL TEACHERS TOWARDS THE INCLUSION OF CHILDREN AND STUDENTS WITH HEARING IMPAIRMENTS IN REGULAR EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS/STAVOVI ODGAJATELJA I UCITELJA PREMA INKLUZIJI DJECE S OSTECENJEM SLUHA

Teachers' readiness to accept students with disabilities is crucial for successful inclusion. Previous studies found that teachers in pre-schools and schools are more involved in the inclusion process when they report positive attitudes toward children with disabilities. The aims of the present study were (i) to determine attitudes of preschool educators and primary school teachers towards the inclusion of children and students with hearing impairments in regular educational institutions; (ii) to find out correlations of these attitudes with age, years of service, and self- assessed competence in the education of children with difficulties; (iii) to find out differences in these attitudes in relation to knowledge of legislation, type of workplace (preschool teacher/primary school teacher) and statements regarding the education of children and pupils with special needs. In total, there were 203 respondents from the city of Rijeka, of whom 102 (50.2%) were pre- school teachers and 101 (49.8%) were primary school teachers. The questionnaire measured teacher's attitudes to educational inclusion of pupils with hearing impairments. Factor analysis determined the construct validity and reliability of four dimensions of a scale designed to measure attitudes toward inclusion of children/pupils with hearing impairments, while the hypotheses were tested using descriptive, correlational and differential nonparametric analyses. Pre-school teachers and primary school teachers reported positive attitudes toward the need for an educational rehabilitator in order to ensure successful inclusion of children and students with hearing impairments, toward the benefits of socialisation of children and students with hearing impairments and toward the usefulness of professional services for inclusion of children and students with hearing impairments. Respondents reported negative attitudes toward special schooling for children and students with hearing impairments. Respondents' attitudes were not related to their age, years of service or familiarity with legislation, but they were related to previous formal education about children and pupils with special needs. Preschool teachers showed more positive attitudes than primary school teachers. Results point to the need for more extensive training of teachers and educators during their initial education about the inclusion of children and students with hearing impairments in the educational process. Results also show the need for prof