Abstract:

Teachers of the 21th century are confronted with numerous challenges in implementing a successful and quality inclusive practice. Instead of adapting students to the education system, the emphasis is on creating changes in the education system so that teaching would be appropriate to the educational needs of each student. In order to create conditions for quality inclusion of students with disabilities, a series of tasks and engagement of teachers should be included in planning and implementing adequate support strategies in teaching students with disabilities. Implementation and analysis of the quality of inclusive education in contemporary schools is focused on applying new and diverse approaches using strategies that must be appropriate to the abilities, capacities and interests of each individual student. Therefore, the aim of this research is to determine the frequency of the teachers’ usage of support strategies (N= 155) in teaching students with disabilities in regular primary schools in the Republic of Croatia. For the purpose of conducting this research A Questionnaire for Teachers on the Application of Certain Support Strategies in Teaching Students with Disabilities was designed. To compare the differences according to the frequency of the application of types of support in teaching (adjustment of learning content, adjustment of methods, means and forms of work, adjustment of requirements and encouragement of social relations) the obtained results are presented using the analysis of variance and Least Significant Difference (LSD) procedure for a post-hoc test. The results indicate that teachers do not give any significant attention to a certain type of support, although a slightly higher result is shown in the category of the adjustment of learning content. To compare the differences between class and subject teachers on the frequency of the application of types of support, a t-test was conducted. The results showed that, on average, class teachers tend to adjust methods, means and forms of work to students with disabilities more often than subject teachers. This research and results indicate the existence of individualised approach in teaching in Croatian primary schools. However, they also emphasize the necessity for further professional development of teachers, especially subject teachers, in acquiring competencies for inclusive practice.

Keywords:

Individualised approach, primary school, students with disabilities, support strategies, teachers.