Special education versus inclusive education: examining concerns and attitudes of teaching professionals toward children with disabilities

This article explores the perceptions and experiences of head teachers, teachers and conductor teachers towards students with disabilities, in the five schools of Budapest (Hungary). The study relied on a qualitative methodology. Qualitative instruments, i.e. semi-structured interviews were used to examine the participants’ day to day experiences with students with disabilities, their contribution in the learning process and their viewpoints on different aspects of special, as well as inclusive education in the overall development of students with disabilities. Fourteen interviews (both in English and Hungarian) were conducted in one inclusive and four special schools. Two teachers with disabilities also participated in this study. Results show that participants value an inclusive approach in the overall development of students with disabilities, but display mixed attitudes towards the ‘full’ participation of pupils with disabilities in inclusive classrooms. However, the majority of participants believed that every child with a disability has different education needs. Therefore, the type and severity of disability, ideally, should be a deciding factor in selecting an educational approach. The results also discuss the impact of teachers’ and children’s factors on the attitudes of teachers towards the participation of children with disabilities in general classrooms. There are very few published research papers in English concerning special/inclusive education in Hungary and this was one of biggest challenges faced by the authors in gathering information for this article. This study ends with recommendations for further studies