Variables that affect teachers’ attitudes towards disability and inclusive education in Mumbai, India

Teacher attitude is one of the most important variables in the education of children with disabilities. Attitudes of general educators in the city of Mumbai, India, toward disabilities and inclusion of students with disabilities into regular schools were studied through the usage of two attitude scales. The study investigated whether variable background characteristics such as age, gender, income level, education levels, years of teaching experience, acquaintance with a person with a disability, having a family member with a disability, frequency of contact and closeness to a person with disability affect the attitudes of teachers towards people with disabilities and towards inclusion of students with disabilities into regular schools. The analyses revealed that while some of the variables of interest did affect teachers’ attitudes towards disabilities, the only variable that affected teachers’ attitudes towards inclusion was prior acquaintance with a person with a disability.