IS THE GENDER OF A TEACHER A DETERMINANT OF ATTITUDE TOWARDS INCLUSION? : A CASE STUDY IN SELECTED SCHOOLS OF BHOPAL

Inclusive-education (IE) remains to be an unexplored but essential area in education with a lot of unanswered questions, especially pertaining to the views of teachers’ attitude towards Children with Special Needs (CWSN). This study examined the relationship of gender, a relevant teachers’ personal variable with teachers’ attitudes towards CWSN. This quantitative study was designed to investigate teachers’ attitudes towards Children with Special Needs with an exclusive comparison between female and male Educators. Data was collected from 260 teachers of Bhopal using a self-developed survey instrument entitled Multidimensional Attitudinal Measurement of Teachers towards Children with Disability Scale (MAMTCD-Scale). The findings revealed a non-significant difference in attitude between male and female educators.

Attitude to Aging among Different Groups in Nigeria

Attitude to aging and the aged was surveyed in three groups of Nigerians, 1) caregivers living at home with the elderly, 2) various categories of hospital workers, and 3) the general public. Based on scores of an eleven-item questionnaire the best attitude was in caregivers, and the poorest in hospital workers. Years of education had an overall negative effect on attitudinal measurement. An inference from this study is that the elderly are still valued, but caregivers could be under some stress and would appreciate assistance. It is important for developing countries like Nigeria to begin to think seriously of what types of public assistance the elderly and their families would need.

Environment and Quality of Life: Attitudinal Measurement and Analysis

Public concern for the environment and quality of life is increasing. The present study surveyed the attitudes toward pollution and quality of life of a sample (130 men and 153 women) from a California city whose environment is highly desirable. People expressed concern for the environment but were not willing to pay for conservation with higher taxes. Men and women differed in the extent of agreement with some of the attitudes surveyed.