The Attitudes Of Teachers And Students Towards The Integration Of Learners With Disabilities In Blantyre City Schools,Malawi

Policies on Inclusive Education have resulted in the increased integration of children with disabilities into mainstream schools in the past three decades. The majority of children and young people with disabilities live in developing countries where they face inequalities in education and other opportunities. Negative attitudes constitute one of the major barriers to the development of their potential.This study aimed to explore the attitudes of teachers and students towards learners with disabilities, and to discover what influences the attitudes that teachers and students hold in two government secondary schools in Blantyre, Malawi.A mixed-methods approach, using both quantitative and qualitative data collection methods was adopted to fulfil the aims of the study. Semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions and the Chedoke-Mc Master Attitudes towards Children with Handicaps(CATCH) scale were used to collect data from teachers and students that interact with learners with disabilities every day and different officials involved with the well-being of people with disabilities.The study findings revealed that teachers and students’ attitudes were mixed. Students showed more positive attitudes compared to teachers. Society played a significant role in influencing attitudes however, the teachers’ attitudes were mainly influenced by lack of training and orientation to integration which has led to teachers’ inefficiencies in their classrooms. The need for teacher training, orientation of both teachers and students, and community sensitisation is vital to fully change the attitudes of those directly involved with learners with disabilities. Teachers need the knowledge to be confident and self-efficient while students need orientation to be more accepting and supportive of their peers.