Prof.Ed.

4: Foundation of Special and Inclusive Education

I.B. Beliefs and Attitudes

BELIEFS AND ATTITUDES

What are the beliefs about disabilities and special needs?

8 Teachers need to be aware of the range of beliefs about disabilities and other
special needs that exist because an understanding of different beliefs helps
teachers to understand and respond to the different attitudes towards students
with special needs that teachers are likely to encounter from parents, students,
other communities and colleagues. Sometimes teachers also need to examine and
review their own beliefs and attitudes.

Traditional Beliefs
T Tradition regarded the birth of a child with a disability as a consequence of
particular actions on the part of the parents or one of the parents, or the
particular actions of other community members.
T Usually, the child’s disability has been associated with the parents breaking a
traditional “tabu”, upsetting local spirits by harming the land or committing an
unacceptable act, or not living up to all their responsibilities and obligations.
T Disability has often been regarded as the consequence of a curse, spell or other
magic (kulam) being used against the parents by another community member,
or even a person from another community.
Biblical Beliefs
V Disabilities are usually described in negative terms, with people with disabilities
usually seen as relatively helpless and in need of assistance and comfort or
experiencing it as punishment.
V The Bible actually makes very few references to causes of disability but some
people have interpreted verses such as those in Deuteronomy 28: …if thou wilt
not hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God…cursed shall be the fruit of thy
body…as an indication that disability can be a punishment for a parent’s
misbehaviour.
V Other passages, however, seem to contradict this notion, e.g., the son will not
share the guilt of the father, nor will the father share the guilt of the son. The
righteousness of the righteous man will be credited to him, and the wickedness
of the wicked will be charged against him (Ezekiel 18).

Contemporary beliefs
$ Medical research has explained many of the causes of most of the known
disabilities.
$ Educational researchers are continually finding new information about the
social, educational and other non-medical causes of apparent disabilities,
learning difficulties, behavioural and emotional disorders, and so on.

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I.B. Beliefs and Attitudes

$ New methods of treating and responding to special needs are continually

emerging as well, from the fields of medicine, social science and education, with
a high degree of success.
$ New technologies are also rapidly changing the ways in which many people with
disabilities are able to interact with the world.

General Caution!!!
M Sometimes when a child is born with a disability, community members can be quick
to identify some wrong previously committed by parents, or others, in an effort to
explain the appearance of the disability. Such beliefs can lead to blame being cast
against parents or others, ill feeling developing within and among communities, and
embarrassment on the part of the parents.

Attitudes in Relation to Special Needs

• Attitudes are, to a large extent, a reflection of a person’s fundamental beliefs.
• To understand and appreciate a person’s attitudes (and even one’s own attitudes)
a teacher often needs to understand or identify that person’s beliefs.
• Special education, to a large extent, is all about attitudes and attitudinal change.
Sometimes, in order to bring about a successful model of inclusive education,
teachers need to change the attitudes of others or change their own attitudes.
• Practicing what you preach can be the most effective strategy of all for changing
attitudes.

Three components of Attitude:

• Perceptions
The way people see things; the information they have about
something; beliefs; facts; assumptions; interpretations; experiences;
understanding
• Emotions
The way people feel about something; commitment; subjectivity
• Actions
The way that people act, based on their perceptions and
emotions; what people do according to their attitude

$ Changing perceptions is probably the most important strategy in changing

attitudes about disabilities and other special needs.

$ Changing a person’s feelings usually involves changing the person’s perceptions

but exposing the person to the feelings of others encourages the person to have
empathy, that is, they can begin to see how others feel, and can see themselves
in their shoes.

$ Actions are the most important component of attitude because it is actions that
make the difference and it is through actions that perceptions are changed. As
mentioned, people can change their own perceptions and emotions by trying

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I.B. Beliefs and Attitudes

things out, and changing the attitudes of others can be achieved very quickly by
demonstration, or by walking the talk (actually doing what you say should be
done).

Cycle of Attitude Change

Advocacy
8 The most effective teachers are those that make a difference with the
students whose needs are greatest and who can be difficult to teach.
8 When teachers aspire to be effective special educators, and take on an
advocacy role by making sure that students with disabilities attend school
and receive an excellent education at school, and are treated properly by
others, then they become effective teachers.
8 Effective teachers benefit all students, win respect, and experience the
highest levels of job satisfaction.

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