Changing Emotions Before Changing Ways: Leadership and Guidance to Improve Teachers Inclusive Practice

Abstract

Like many countries across the world, Malaysia has affirmed its commitment to quality and transformative inclusive education. However, the complex journey to provide a quality inclusive education can lead to inconsistency in practice. To address these concerns and to better understand the challenge at hand, this study obtained teachers’ views on school-based professional development for promoting inclusive education in Malaysia’s primary schools. 76 teachers including administrators were sampled from five primary schools. 25 individual and eight focus group interviews were conducted. In addition, 10 classroom observations were carried out before the individual interviews. Data were analysed thematically using qualitative analysis software. To enhance teachers’ inclusive practice, it is found that besides school leadership and the understanding of inclusive education, the values and positive attitudes of teachers are important. Only through strategies and actions that can cause change to the emotions, and thus, attitudes and motivations of teachers, might there be a change in the way in which teachers will act.