Teachers’ Knowledge and Attitudes toward Sustainable Inclusive Education for Students with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders

Abstract

With the growing number of students diagnosed with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBDs), there is a need to understand how teachers perceive those students. A mixed-method research design was used to determine whether there was a relationship between the level of general education teachers’ knowledge of emotional and behavioral disorders (EBDs) and their attitudes toward students with EBDs. The participants in the study were 782 certified elementary regular education teachers. Quantitative data were collected using two questionnaires, the Knowledge of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders Questionnaire (KEBDQ) and the General Educators’ Attitudes toward Emotional and Behavioral Disorders Questionnaire (GEAEBDQ). Descriptive analysis and Pearson correlation coefficients were used to analyze the data. The results of the quantitative data indicated that the teachers’ responses reflected both negative attitudes toward students with EBDs and poor knowledge of EBDs. A significant correlation was found between teachers’ level of knowledge and their attitudes toward students with EBDs. Qualitative data gathered from the interviews were analyzed using the thematic analysis approach. The qualitative findings are in line with the quantitative results. Implementation of professional development training to support general education teachers to acquire knowledge of EBDs may improve teachers’ perceptions of students with EBDs.