Teachers' Experiences With the Challenges of Inclusion in Trinidad

• In Event: Marriott Roundtable Session 4
  In Roundtable Session: Facilitating Inclusive Education: Challenges in Policies and Practices

Abstract

This study uses a phenomenographic approach to further understand the challenges that teachers experienced in achieving inclusive education in the Caribbean context of Trinidad and Tobago. Researchers reviewed transcripts from twenty teachers with varying years of teaching experience across four primary schools in northern Trinidad. Semi-structured interviews, observations, along with contextual data were used for data collection. Results indicated the multiple ways teachers understood the challenges of the implementation of inclusive education. Five categories of challenges were identified, including: class size and resources, inadequate government support structures, needs in teacher education, parental support and high stakes testing. Results also indicated how these categories related to one another.

Authors

• Theresa L. Abodeeb-Gentile, University of Hartford

• Lisa Philip-Lovelace, McGill University

• Dennis Conrad, State University of New York