Kuwait Parents’ Attitudes toward Inclusive Education for Students with Intellectual Disabilities in General Education

Authors

    Hawaa Alshemari , L. Lynn Stansberry Brusnahan , Amira Albagshi

Published:

2023-05-16

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.52291/ijse.2023.38.11

How to Cite

Alshemari, H., Stansberry Brusnahan, L. L. ., & Albagshi, A. . (2023). Kuwait Parents’ Attitudes toward Inclusive Education for Students with Intellectual Disabilities in General Education . International Journal of Special Education, 38(1), 118–130. https://doi.org/10.52291/ijse.2023.38.11

Abstract

This study investigated the attitudes (i.e., beliefs, feelings, and behavioral intentions) of Kuwaiti parents about providing students with intellectual disabilities (ID) an inclusive education (IE) in general education (GEd) classrooms. One hundred seventy-seven parents participated in this study from six governorates in Kuwait. The researchers utilized a survey method to examine the parents’ attitudes with a concentration on eight demographic attributes: gender, age, level of education, knowledge about people with ID, having a child with a disability, contact with a person with ID, having school-age children, and the governorate where they live. The results indicated that parents who had contact with or had children with ID held the most positive attitudes toward providing students with disabilities an IE in GEd. The findings of the study provide a comprehensive view of the importance of inclusion of people with disabilities on attitude. In this study, we identify predictor factors that affect the attitudes of parents and implications.

Keywords:

inclusive education, attitudes, intellectual disabilities, general education, parents

Author Biography

L. Lynn Stansberry Brusnahan, University of St. Thomas

L. Lynn Stansberry Brusnahan is a Professor at the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota. At the university, she is former chair of the Department of Special Education and coordinates the autism spectrum disorder and developmental cognitive disabilities programs. Lynn is coauthor of Do Watch Listen Say: Social and Communication Intervention for Autism Spectrum Disorder. She was the 2012 Autism Society of America Professional of the Year. Dr. Stansberry Brusnahan has a Ph.D. from University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in Urban Education.  Lynn serves on the Council for Exceptional Children’s (CEC) Division on Autism and Developmental Disabilities (DADD) board. Lynn is the parent of an adult with autism.

Issue

IJSE Vol 38, No: 1, 2023

Volume 38, Number: 1, Year 2023 of International Journal of Special Education