Attitudes Formation of Japanese Teachers toward Inclusive Education System

We examined teachers' attitudes formation toward the inclusive education system in Japan using a questionnaire method. A total of 145 teachers from special (77 teachers) and normal schools (68 teachers) rated the Japanese version of the scale for measuring teachers' perception on inclusion, SACIE-R (Sentiments, Attitudes, and Concerns about Inclusive Education, Revised). Using principal component analysis, we extracted three principal components: Sentiments, Attitudes, and Concerns. We compared principal component scores between male and female teachers and between the special and normal school teachers in each principal component. We found sex differences only in Attitudes; female teachers held more positive attitudes for an inclusive education system compared with male teachers. Moreover, we found individual differences between school types in Sentiments and Attitudes; special school teachers had lower sentiment scores and more positive attitudes compared with normal school teachers. These results provide evidence on Japanese teachers' attitudes toward the relationship between students with disabilities and the inclusive education system.