Teachers’ Concern and Professional Development Needs in Adopting Inclusive Education in Saudi Arabia, Based on Their Gender for Vision 2030

Abstract

This study looks into the concerns and the required professional development for adopting an inclusive education system, as expressed by elementary school teachers, based on their gender in Saudi Arabia. Participants in this research were special and general education teachers randomly selected from elementary schools in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, which have special education programs. The theoretical framework of the study was the Concern Based Adoption Model (CBAM). Non-experimental cross-sectional survey was used to collect data. Data were obtained from 332 teachers, i.e., the response rate was 83%. The Stages of Concerns Questionnaire (SoCQ) provided by CBAM indicated that respondent stages of concern 0–2 (Unconcerned, Informational, and Personal) ranked the highest, while stages 4–6 (Consequence, Collaboration, and Refocusing) ranked the lowest. This profile was identified as a “non-user profile”, meaning respondents wanted more information about inclusive education. Teachers, in general, showed interest for professional development on inclusive education, including immediate training and seminars/workshops. The only significant difference in interest for professional development was by gender. The t-test indicated that female teachers have more interest for professional development compared to male teachers.