Teachers’ Attitudes towards Inclusion of Blind or Partially-Sighted Students in Secondary Schools in Nigeria

Purpose: This study investigated the attitudes of secondary school teachers towards students with blindness or partial sight in selected states in Nigeria. Method: The authors utilised the modified version of a previous instrument to collect data from 306 secondary school teachers in Nigeria. Six basic questions were  established to address: respondents’ attitudes towards inclusion; training acquired related to teaching; knowledge pertaining to policy and legislation; confidence levels; impact of geographical location; and differences in attitudes by the variables of subject(s) taught, school level taught, and years of teaching experience. Results: Attitudes of participants were mixed but generally indicated a positive trend. The level of training was low, with teachers showing limited knowledge of policy and legislation. A little over a quarter (27%) of them lacked confidence in teaching. There were differences in attitudes related to the geographical location of respondents. Those who taught at the senior secondary school level tended to have higher attitude scores on average than their counterparts at the junior secondary school level. Conclusion and Limitations: This study used self-report measures, although observations and interviews could be additional ways to evaluate the attitudes of participants throughout the country. Moreover, in-service programmes should be implemented to increase the knowledge base and expand the experiences of teachers in line with established policies and legislation.