International Journal of Inclusive Education

ISSN: 1360-3116 (Print) 1464-5173 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/tied20

Exploring strategies of teaching and classroom

practices in response to challenges of inclusion in
a Thai school: a case study

Amrita Kaur, Mohammad Noman & Rosna Awang-Hashim

To cite this article: Amrita Kaur, Mohammad Noman & Rosna Awang-Hashim (2016) Exploring
strategies of teaching and classroom practices in response to challenges of inclusion in a
Thai school: a case study, International Journal of Inclusive Education, 20:5, 474-485, DOI:
10.1080/13603116.2015.1090489

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13603116.2015.1090489

Published online: 07 Oct 2015.

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 International Journal of Inclusive Education, 2016
Vol. 20, No. 5, 474– 485, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13603116.2015.1090489

Exploring strategies of teaching and classroom practices in

response to challenges of inclusion in a Thai school: a case study
∗
Amrita Kaura , Mohammad Nomanb∗ and Rosna Awang-Hashima
a
School of Education and Modern Languages, Universiti Utara Malaysia, Kedah, Malaysia;
b
UUM International School, Universiti Utara Malaysia, Kedah, Malaysia
(Received 10 May 2015; accepted 22 August 2015)

The shift from special schools towards inclusive education is becoming

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increasingly prevalent across education systems around the world. However, the
challenges this shift brings remain critical for developing nations where there is
a huge chasm between policies and practices. This study used instrumental case
study design to examine how a general education teacher strategised her teaching
and classroom practices while accommodating a student with complex learning
and behavioural disabilities within a regular classroom. Data collected through
observations, in depth interviews and reflective journals suggested that the
teacher made conscious efforts within limited resources to create strategies to
help the student fit in the mainstream classroom. The strategies are discussed
under socio-emotional, cognitive and physical categories. Implications for
teachers’ professional development are discussed.
Keywords: inclusive education; Thailand; classroom practices; strategies;
attitudes; Thailand education

Inclusion in mainstream
Inclusion is explained as a philosophy of acceptance where all people are valued and
treated with respect (Carrington and Robinson 2004). The idea of inclusive edu-
cation, rooted in sociopolitical dimension, states that inclusion is a matter of
human rights. It refers to equal access of quality educational opportunities and full
participation by all students in local school settings (Farrell 2000; Smelter, Rasch,
and Yudewitz 1994).
Bank-Mikkelsen (1969) and Nirje (1969) initially introduced the idea of ‘normali-
sation’ that advocated having people with disabilities living close to normal people.
Subsequently, the west responded to the principle of ‘normalisation’ by introducing
educational policies such as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (1990)
of the USA, Special Educational Needs and Disability Act (2001) of Great Britain
and the Disability Standards for Education (2005) of Australia (Konza 2008) These pol-
icies promoted the idea of social justice and equal opportunities for students with dis-
abilities. These initiatives were further affirmed by UNESCO Salamanca Statement in
1994 that called for school systems to change and adapt in order to accommodate
special education need (SEN) students in mainstream school system (UNESCO
1994). Articles 2.4 and 2.5 of the UNESCO Salamanca statement explicitly emphasised

∗
Corresponding authors. Emails: kauramrita@hotmail.com; mdnoman@yahoo.com

# 2015 Taylor & Francis

 International Journal of Inclusive Education 475

the need for inclusion as an effective way to eradicate discrimination and bring equality
for education in society (Susan 2004). Inclusion has now become a global agenda
which is being adopted around the world in the form of a range of policies and initiat-
ives (Bubpha, Erawan, and Saihong 2012).
Ruijs and Peetsma (2009), in an extensive review of the literature on the effects
of inclusion, provided a plethora of empirical evidence suggesting positive out-
comes for SEN students in inclusive education settings such as improved gains in
reading performance (Marston 1996; Waldron and McLeskey 1998), improved
psycho-social functioning and mathematic progress (Karsten et al. 2001), better
language and mathematics scores (Peetsma et al. 2001) and positive effect of inclus-
ive education on competence attainment (Myklebust 2007). Support services and
appropriate interventions are considered central to the developmental needs of
SEN students. Recent studies in south Australian schools also reported positive
influences of support services for students with mild intellectual disability (Datta
2015) and for students with visual impairment (Datta and Palmer 2015) towards
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problem-solving skills, social lives and academic lives. However, these findings
remain limited for those SEN students whose cognitive or physical disabilities
range from mild to moderate degree of special needs. It is indeed challenging to
generalise these outcomes considering disability differences and context differences
among SEN students.
It must be noted that the terminology to describe ‘special needs’ is sometimes
inconsistent and encompasses a wide array of attributes (Lindsay 2007). For
example, until a decade ago, the term ‘special need’ specifically implied students
with physical disabilities. The challenge of inclusion was limited to providing
special equipment and infrastructural support. However, during the last decade, stu-
dents with cognitive, behavioural or emotional challenges that cause learning difficul-
ties are also categorised as SEN students. These students require more complex and
meticulous strategies and support for inclusion within mainstream school systems
(Department of Education and Science 2007; Konza 2008; Stubbs 2002).
Review of the literature reveals multiple barriers and a few common challenges
encountered in the implementation of inclusive education around the world (Engelbrecht
2012; Wedell 2005). However, the challenges of developing nations are reported to be
more complex and critical, given the socio-economic and political scenarios. Lack of
governmental support, ineffective policies and legislation for schools and teachers,
and inadequate funding and infrastructure are reported to be significant issues in
filling the gap between policies and practice for inclusive education (Charema 2007;
Chitiyo 2007; Singal 2005).
Teachers play a key role in policy implementations and determining direction and
instruction in the classroom; hence, it is not surprising that a significant number of
studies have focused on examining teachers’ attitude, perspective and approaches
towards inclusion in classrooms. The findings of these studies demonstrate that the
factors responsible for less positive attitudes of teachers and poor approaches
towards inclusion in developing nations were mainly the lack of internal and external
support such as training, infrastructure and unsystematic modification in school curri-
culum and teaching and learning approaches (Green and Engelbrecht 2007; Leyser,
Kapperman, and Keller 1994; Stubbs 2002).
Teachers in Thailand face similar challenges in implementing special education pol-
icies in Thailand that encourage the inclusion of children with disabilities within main-
stream classrooms.
 476 A. Kaur et al.

The Thailand context

The history of special education in Thailand dates back to 1939 when the first school
for blind was established in Bangkok. Religious and private originations have contin-
ued to provide rehabilitation and educational support in the country. The contribution
of Thai monarchy in the rehabilitation and education of children with disability has
been of great significance. Ratchasuda College of Higher Education and Research
Center for People with Disabilities at Mahidol University are examples of such pro-
jects supported by the monarchy (UNICEF 2003). The Thai government too contrib-
uted through legislation and policy initiatives to assist education and services for
children with disabilities (Vorapanya and Dunlap 2014). The National Special Edu-
cation Plan in 1995 focused on developing education services for children with dis-
abilities. The National Education Act of 1999 further emphasised the rights to
education for those with disabilities and brought them under the constitutional right
to education. The shift towards inclusive education for SEN students began to
catch momentum and culminated in the Education Provision for People with Disabil-
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ities Act which became a law in 2008. The law empowered SEN children with the
right to education, from early years to higher education, and declared it unlawful
for schools to not accept students with disabilities in the mainstream classrooms.
To set an example of the best practices of inclusive education for other schools,
the ministry of education established model inclusive schools around the country
(Ministry of Education 2008). Additionally, the ministry also provided support for
Individualised Educational Plan (IEP) with at least yearly updating (Rajkijjanubaksa
2008), 200 hours of special education training for teachers in schools that practise
inclusivity and extra funding of 10,000 baht (around US$ 300) per year for inclusive
schools (Vorapanya and Dunlap 2014). However, the challenges in the implemen-
tation of inclusive education policy still remain critical in Thailand. Insufficient train-
ing, lack of skills and resources to support inclusive education and inadequate
funding and support from top management (Onbun-uea and Morrison 2008; Pisarn-
sombat 2000; Rattanosot 2003; Vorapanya and Dunlap 2014) are the prevalent and
prime concerns in the practical implementation of inclusive policies. Furthermore,
these barriers become more arduous for the mainstream schools that are not officially
recognised or ready as inclusive schools. As Vorapanya and Dunlap (2014) informed,
by law all Thai children are eligible to school admission irrespective of the degree of
severity of disability. All SEN students are eligible for admission in the neighbour-
hood school. However, not every school is prepared for handling SEN students in
Thailand.

Methodology
Case study research is considered appropriate for an in-depth understanding of the
instance or phenomena within real-life context (Thomas 2011; Yin 2009). Usually stu-
dents with special needs demonstrate variability in their ability; therefore, their studies
are best aligned with the underpinning of philosophy of qualitative research that allows
in-depth investigation into individual cases. Instrumental case study has been used in
this study which attempts to understand the strategies and practices of a classroom
teacher facing the challenges of inclusion of a SEN student, without formal inclusion
training or appropriate infrastructural readiness of the school. Instrumental case
studies offer an in-depth description of a particular site and individuals where the
case plays a secondary role and facilitates in understanding of something else (Stake
 International Journal of Inclusive Education 477

1995). To respect the privacy of the teacher and the SEN student involved in the study,
pseudonyms are used instead of real names. Moreover, to protect from any kind of
social risk for the SEN student, confidentiality was promised.
The following research questions guided this study:

(1) How does the teacher strategise her practices to accommodate a SEN student
into a regular classroom?
(2) What are the teacher’s reflections on the strategies she used?

The participant
This study took place in the year 2013 in a Thai public school situated in Bangkapi dis-
trict in Bangkok. The total school population from Grade 1 to Grade 12 was 930 stu-
dents, with Thai students comprising 90% of the total population. The school had
clinically diagnosed four students (0.5% of the total population) with SEN. Out of
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the four students, one student had spent only one semester with her teacher while
two of them had spent less than a semester. The fourth SEN student was Dang (pseu-
donym) who studied in Grade 2. The name of her teacher was Lek (pseudonym) who
was chosen for the study because she had spent more than a year with Dang and had
made extraordinary effort to provide inclusion for her in the classroom. Teacher Lek,
a female, aged 33, is a certified primary school teacher for general education with
major in social studies. At the time of this study, she had been working in Thai
public schools for six years, out of which the last four years were in the present
school. The instrumental case study encourages such purposive sampling to ensure
that the right selection of a desired case would yield fruitful information for the research
questions (Creswell 2005; Stake 1995).
Dang had been in the school for three and a half years at the time of this study. She
was clinically diagnosed with learning disability at the kindergarten level due to devel-
opmental delay. Her teachers had consistently reported difficulties in memory, reason-
ing and emotional maturity which, in turn, had negatively affected her academic
performance, in both numeracy and literacy. Although she was physically fit and had
a pleasant demeanour most of the time, she often indulged in disruptive behaviours
in the classroom.
After being promoted to the next grade levels for the last three years, Dang refused
to move to Grade 3 when she completed her Grade 2. Upon inquiry, she explained that
she wants to be with her teacher Lek which is more important to her than moving to a
higher grade. After consultation with parents, school counsellors and management, the
student was allowed to stay with Lek for another school year. As a Grade 2 homeroom
teacher, Lek taught the core subjects – Thai language, Maths, Science and Social
studies – and carried out non-instructional duties like other teachers in a Thai Public
school. On an average, she spent 5 hours a day in the class, either teaching or carrying
out her non-instructional duties. The idea of this study came at the end of the first seme-
ster of Dang’s second stint in the classroom where she had already spent 17 months
with teacher Lek. Upon request, Lek expressed her willingness and interest to share
her experiences on inclusion for the benefit of other teachers.

Data collection
For validity of a study involving a single phenomenon, data collection is triangulated
using different methods so that they corroborate one another (Brannen 2005; Denzin
 478 A. Kaur et al.

1989, 1970). Data triangulation is a strategy for improving the validity and reliability of
research or evaluation of findings (Mathison 1988; Patton 2002). In order to study the
inclusive practices of a teacher in response to the challenges of inclusion of a SEN
student in a mainstream classroom, data were collected using multiple sources such
as observations, in-depth interviews and reflective journals.
In-depth interviews and class observations functioned as the primary research
tools for obtaining information. The SEN student had been with the teacher for a sig-
nificant period of time at the time of the study. The open-ended questions during the
interview were intended to prompt teacher Lek to recall her past experiences with the
student on inclusion challenges and the strategies she used to overcome them. A
semi-structured interview protocol guided our interview sessions. The interview fol-
lowed a pyramid model of interviewing (Wengraf 2001) which began with specific
questions, opened up for details with examples and instances during the course.
We followed the saturation criterion for finishing the interview process (Corbin and
Strauss 2008). Seven interview sessions were conducted at different times during
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the semester. Each interview lasted for almost an hour. Interviews were audio-
taped and transcribed.
Observations were conducted to get first-hand account of what happened in real set-
tings and what were the actual practices (Merriam 2009). They were conducted parallel
to the interview sessions, but not necessarily on the same day. Observations served as
the second source of information which often confirmed, elaborated or clarified the con-
tents of the interview. The teacher was observed 12 times across 5 months. The obser-
vation was not limited to teaching sessions only, but also included non-instructional
sessions. Detailed notes were recorded of every activity, teacher and peer interaction
with the SEN student, classroom environment, classroom displays and seating arrange-
ment to examine the nature of the strategies used by the teacher.
After every interview and class observation, the teacher was asked to write her
reflection on the strategies used in dealing with the SEN student. The teacher submitted
nine journal entries.

Data analysis
The transcribed data from all the sources were put together after filtering redundant
information and coded and analysed individually and then collaboratively by the
researchers to compare the coding schemes between different sources in order to over-
come research bias (Yin 2009). The research questions guided the analysis of data. The
data for this study were analysed in three steps.
The first step was ongoing parallel with the data collection, where the entire tran-
scription was coded for the teacher’s action as strategies and reasons as reflection.
This step gave us the opportunity to make desired altercation in data collection. For
example, if the data suggested information signalling challenges which was not the
research objective, the researchers in the next meet would manoeuvre data-eliciting
techniques. Initial categories that emerged from interviews and journals were then com-
pared with observation notes as a strategy to increase the validity of evaluation
(Merriam 2009).
In the second round, we undertook microanalysis of data for the terms, phrases or
sentences used by the teachers to describe her actions and strategies (Corbin and Strauss
2008). Strategies which were described using similar terms and phrases were differen-
tiated into categories after discussing the individual understanding of each researcher.
 International Journal of Inclusive Education 479

In case of overlapping or indecisiveness over assigning certain terms and phrases

into a particular category, the final decision was taken on the basis of outcome of
those actions. The draft of the findings was given to the teacher to read and understand
as a member check. Member check is considered crucial for confirming the credibility
of the information given by the participants (Creswell and Miller 2000). In the final
round, emergent themes were apparent. Significant instances and reflection on each
strategy were chosen for reporting.

Findings
The findings of this study are reported parallel with strategies and the teachers’ reflec-
tion on those strategies. We came across a myriad of practices of teacher Lek; however,
several of these were similar to the findings of reports and pedagogical literature (e.g.
Dutton 2007) on strategies for inclusion. Keeping in mind the objectives of this study,
we only report those practices that are relevant to this study and have not been reported
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in the findings of other similar studies. For clarity and better understanding, the findings
are discussed under three major categories: socio-emotional, cognitive and physical
strategies. The findings provide selective examples of strategies that she employed to
handle the situation.

Socio-emotional strategies
The findings suggest that the endeavour of inclusion by a general education teacher was
a challenging task. However, the data suggest that teacher Lek regulated her strategies
primarily through socio-emotional support that she provided to her student Dang. The
teacher’s positive attitude towards accepting the SEN student and display of ownership
was evident in the findings. Dang enjoyed sitting in groups during the instruction,
although she often disrupted the classes with frequent and repetitive questioning. In
response, teacher Lek would pause to listen to her and answer her query in a way
that other students might benefit. In few instances, she would ask Dang’s peers to
answer her questions. In case of repetitive questioning by Dang, teacher Lek would
use physical gesture or facial expression to convey that she is listening. The frequent
use of Thai colloquial expression for affection often facilitated teacher Lek getting
Dang’s attention to class activities and in directing her behaviour. Since Dang suffered
developmental delay, she did not display independent behaviour. Moreover, Dang
encountered occasional accidents such as locking herself in the restroom and mispla-
cing her belongings. Teacher Lek reported planning her work timetables in such a
way that allowed her to be with Dang during non-instructional times as much as she
could. This meant that she would often accompany Dang for lunch allowing Dang to
sit by her side, be with her during break times and during the time she was waiting
for the bus to be picked up after school. Teacher Lek assigned class buddies to accom-
pany Dang to restroom and collaborated with other teachers and senior students to
monitor and assist Dang in case of her absence. Assigning responsibility was another
strategy that was used to foster competence and self-esteem. Dang was also given a
chance to help her classmates do classroom chores, which in turn helped her feel
valued.
While reflecting on the strategies that she used, Lek mentioned that in the beginning
she had experienced frustration for being given extra burden in the form of a SEN
student in her class; however, along the way she developed empathy for Dang. She
 480 A. Kaur et al.

genuinely wanted to help Dang and very soon she formed a strong bond with her. She
expressed that accommodating Dang willingly was the best way for her to continue her
teaching job at school and excel as a teacher who treats all students equally. She dis-
played empathy and warmth towards her, believing that it was not her fault to be
born like that. Involving classmates and other members outside the classroom in
accommodating Dang was a deliberate strategy. Teacher Lek said, ‘This way I can
gain empathy for Dang from others, and they will share her responsibility with me
and not complain to me or their parents.’ The opportunity of integration helped
Dang see her peers as role models and enhanced her socio-emotional skills.

Cognitive strategies
To facilitate cognitive process such as memory, attention and skill development, Lek
relied on strengths of Dang by choosing appropriate mediation and allowing flexibility.
For example, she used developmentally appropriate material for Dang’s Mathematics
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classes. She reported, ‘If everyone was doing two digit additions, I would give Dang
to do single digit addition. I always use maths and reading exercises of grade-1 for
Dang instead of grade-2.’ Teacher Lek made pictorial description of mathematical pro-
blems that made it easier for Dang to solve. Dang was allowed to work at her own pace
and take a break as and when she wanted. Teacher Lek also considered Dang’s prefer-
ences and interest while assigning tasks to her. Dang enjoyed drawing and colouring, so
she encouraged Dang to express herself through drawings and labelling them with short
sentences. Dang would often form letters wrong way round. Teacher Lek brought in a
mirror to help her see the reflection of wrongly formed letters and learn them in the right
way. To facilitate her handwriting skills, she provided worksheets with dotted letters on
it. Sequenced instruction in the form of rhyme to form Thai letters was provided for her
to remember the formation of a particular letter. For reading sessions, Dang was made
to sit with classmates to point out words and read aloud. Very often she would read
under peer tutoring in small groups. Teacher Lek used reiteration, re-emphasis and
visual aids as key strategies to facilitate long-term memory retention for Dang.
In her reflection, Lek admitted having knowledge of IEP through trained special
education teachers in other schools. However, she said, ‘It didn’t work for her as
Dang’s mood was unpredictable each day.’ She could only adapt her instruction for
Dang by using resources available at that point of time. The mirror reflection strategy
to read wrongly formed alphabets was partly to add some humour as well as excitement
for Dang and other classmates. According to her, Dang was never forced to write
exams; instead her assessment was mainly formative. Parents and school management
were sent a descriptive report on her fortnightly. The objective of her interventions was
to encourage Dang to learn with peers and have positive feeling about class, school and
learning. She said ‘I don’t want her to feel stressed, anxious or ashamed of herself for
not performing well. If she feels unhappy, she becomes disorderly and unsettled.’ Lek
reported that using innovative techniques and variety of modes to facilitate Dang’s
learning also helped her in getting the attention and participation of other students in
the class as well.

Physical strategies
Teacher Lek made sure that Dang worked in her close proximity so that she could be
assisted during other classes. Dang’s desk and chair were kept uncluttered and her daily
 International Journal of Inclusive Education 481

schedule and class timetable were pasted on it in a larger font. Dang placed her belong-
ings close to teacher Lek’s workplace. Lek always created seating arrangement in
groups so that Dang could always be a part of one of the groups. She made sure she
rotated Dang among different groups. She also kept a kit comprising assorted colouring
sheets, art material and crayons that helped in engaging Dang during complex instruc-
tion time for others. During the observation it was noticed that several posters were put
up in the classroom to specifically facilitate Dang with instructions. The school did not
provide any technological assistance in the classroom, except allowing teachers the
flexibility in teaching and learning standards. However, teacher Lek often brought in
her laptop for Dang to watch videos in Thai language, both for fun and for learning
mathematics. Besides this, she let Dang use her personal mobile phone in case she
needed to talk to her parents. The teacher had placed an exclusive display board
only for Dang to display her work. She said, ‘some of the displayed work help her
to revise contents and she refers to old work to help her finish new task’.
In her reflection, Lek reiterates the fact that helping herself to accommodate Dang
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was the only way for her to continue to do her job as a teacher without guilt and stress.
Even with non-existent support from the school, she managed to bring in resources that
would help her accommodate Dang in her class. She said ‘failing to accommodate Dang
effectively will also affect other students learning, I want to be organized and prepared
so that my work in the class can progress smoothly’.

Discussion
Findings of this case study suggest that teachers’ attitude plays a central role in the suc-
cessful implementation of inclusive education in mainstream classrooms. Display of
ownership and willingness to accept and endure challenges of inclusion can shorten
or eliminate the gap between the policy and practices. Stubbs (2002), in concluding
Agra seminar, highlights attitudinal barriers as more serious than economic barriers.
Avramidis and Norwich (2002), in an extensive review of teachers’ attitude towards
inclusion, proposed that teachers initially resist the new policies; however, with time
and experience they develop positive attitudes towards the policy. They quote
Harvey (1990), ‘no choice policy’ as one of the determinants for changing attitudes.
Teacher Lek was initially reluctant to accept the task but when entrusted with the
responsibility anyway, gradually demonstrated willingness to accept the challenge.
She used innovative strategies and was determined to assist Dang to adjust in a
regular classroom. As indicated in the findings, the teacher had no option but to will-
ingly accommodate the SEN student in the mainstream classroom. Moreover, as Lin,
Schwartz, and Hatano (2005) describe, the process of teaching is unpredictable and
also one style does not fit all; therefore, teaching is considered metacognitive. Teachers
are capable of regulating their styles and make macro and micro adaptations to accom-
modate students with varied ability in one classroom. The literature on education for
inclusion provides a number of strategies to support this proposition (Ashman and
Elkins 2009)
Another significant determinant of teacher Lek’s attitude was found to be embedded
in teachers’ belief, which in the present case is greatly influenced by the Thai culture. In
Buddhism, disability is considered as a consequence of bad karma in the past life (Vor-
apanya and Dunlap 2014). Thai people are generally caring and considerate like the
teacher, peers and fellow teachers, who were willing to accommodate the SEN
student in their system by extending support. Leyser, Kapperman, and Keller (1994),
 482 A. Kaur et al.

in a cross-cultural study of teachers’ attitude towards inclusion, had concluded that

German teachers’ positive attitude towards inclusion in the absence of any policies
and formal practices was due to the sensitivity of Germans towards disabled people
in the society. However, the findings do suggest a disagreement with Forlin’s (1995)
conclusion that mainstream teachers do not have positive attitude towards inclusion
when compared with special education teachers. Teacher Lek’s minimal or no prior
experience with SEN students had prevented her from forming a negative preconcep-
tion. Therefore, she willingly accepted to practise inclusion in her classroom.
Inclusion of SEN students into mainstream classrooms is a multidimensional endea-
vour. It includes all the stakeholders involved in schooling as an institution. However,
we argue that practical implementation of policies do not necessarily rely only on
removing physical barriers and institutional barriers and providing professional devel-
opment, but equally important is also the promotion of social and affective dimension
and positive attitudes within teachers.
As Shulman (2004) suggest that besides knowledge and skills, apprenticeship of the
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heart is a crucial element to be encompassed in effective training programmes. It is

important to focus on the development of the ethical and moral dimensions for positive
attitudes and beliefs among teachers for effective inclusion. Motivating teachers, inspir-
ing effort and inculcating values for care and inclusion within school’s policies and
goals will have positive outcomes. Systematic and intensive effort for awareness
drive on principles of human rights, diversity and inclusion among all the members
of school community can further strengthen the attitudes, resulting in effective
inclusion. Programme for competence development in inclusive education and differ-
entiated instruction for all general education, if made a mandatory practice would
help in enhancing teachers’ self-belief about handling inclusion. Effective inclusion
readiness is not only knowledge, but is also the ability to transform beliefs and attitudes
that encourage teachers to try different practices (Rouse 2007). The findings of this
study are presented in a positive light that would encourage general education teachers
to willingly try and adapt their practices for effective inclusion.
However, the study limits its implication and suggestions for a particular case as
presented in this study. The issues and challenges with the number of SEN students,
severity of disability and teachers’ attitude would have profoundly affected the kind
of strategies reported in the present study.

Conclusion
In this article, the authors navigate through the broader backdrop of international drive
on inclusion, through the policies and initiatives at the national level and narrow down
to the practical implication of inclusion at the classroom level. The article highlights the
significance of inclusion of SEN students into mainstream schools for academic and
social benefits as well as reviews concerns from teachers’ point of view as they act
as the prime players in transforming policies into practices. In the absence of appropri-
ate infrastructure, training and systematic modification in school curriculum and teach-
ing and learning approaches, challenges of inclusion in developing nations remain
critical. In the given background, through this case study the authors examined how
a general education teacher, who did not have formal qualification in special education,
with limited resources, strategised her teaching and classroom practices to accommo-
date a student with complex learning and behavioural disabilities within a regular class-
room. According to the findings of this article, it is suggested that if teachers have
 International Journal of Inclusive Education 483

positive attitude on inclusion, they can make conscious efforts to innovate strategies for
inclusion. This assertion is embedded in Lin, Schwartz, and Hatano (2005) who
describe classroom as an unpredictable environment and teaching as a metacognitive
process. Teachers are capable of adapting their teaching styles to accommodate
diverse students. The findings suggested that teachers’ positive attitude was rooted in
their cultural belief; however, we concluded with the proposition that in order to encou-
rage inclusion, schools should not only facilitate physical facilities but also promote
social and affective values to inculcate positive attitudes among teachers.

Notes on contributors
Amrita Kaur is a Senior Lecturer at the School of Education and Modern Language at Universiti
Utara Malaysia (UUM). She teaches courses in Educational Psychology and Research Method-
ology at the School of Education and Modern Languages, College of Arts and Sciences, UUM.
Her research interests include classroom pedagogies, education psychology and learning motiv-
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ation and cross-cultural studies for learning. She has been in the field of education since 1997,
mostly in the field of K-12 education, specializing primary years instructional pedagogies.
Amrita is also a teacher trainer and educational module developer for A few K-12 schools in
Thailand.
Mohammad Noman is principal at Universiti Utara Malaysia International School. He has been
in the field of K-12 Education since 1992, both as a teacher and later as curriculum coordinator
and school administrator. His research interests include Curriculum and Instruction, Assess-
ment, Educational leadership, learner’s diversity and multicultural education.
Rosna Awang-Hashim was a former Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic and International) of
Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) and is currently a Professor of Educational Psychology at
the School of Education and Modern Languages, College of Arts and Sciences, UUM. She
has been teaching and engaging in research since 1989 at UUM, with short overseas stints at
the Institute for Social Research (ISR), University of Michigan and Buck Institute for Education
(BIE), California, USA. Her research interests include socio-psychological processes in teaching
and learning interactions, learning engagement and motivation, learner diversity and construc-
tion and validation of tests in cognitive – affective domains. She is the current Chief Editor of the
SCOPUS indexed Malaysian Journal of Learning and Instruction (MJLI). At the national level,
she is the Chair of the Critical Agenda Project (CAP PSPTN) in Learning and Teaching, MoE
Malaysia, the Secretary of the National Council of Professors (Education and Development of
Human Capital Cluster), the Deputy Chair (II) of the Malaysian Psychometrics Association
(MPA), and a Master Trainer at the Higher Education Leadership Academy (AKEPT) Malaysia.

ORCID
Mohammad Noman http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8900-4993

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