ATTITUDES OF TEACHERS TOWARD INCLUSIVE EDUCATION IN KAZAKHSTAN: THE CASE OF MAINSTREAM SCHOOLS IN ALMATY

The purpose of the research is to reveal the factors influencing the attitudes of mainstream schoolteachers toward inclusive education process in Almaty. It analyzes teachers’ viewpoints and experiences contributing to the formation of their positive or negative attitudes toward inclusion. Methodology. This research presents the results of qualitative study. 25 teachers of 15 mainstream schools of Almaty city have participated in interviews. The data was codified by Atlas.ti software into several themes related to teachers’ attitudes, which then was attributed to factors. Originality / value of the research. Understanding the teachers’ attitudes and their feelings toward inclusive education will contribute to identify the acute problems in the inclusion process thus preventing negative outcomes of it from teachers’ part. Moreover, utilization of semi-structured interviews in the context of Kazakhstan helps to deeply explore the essence of teachers’ attitudes toward inclusive education. Findings. Six factors were identified as conceptual, social, technical, methodological and didactical, professional and media, that contributes for the formation of particular attitude of teachers. Findings showed more neutral and even negative attitude of teachers toward inclusion. They were more concerned with methodological/didactical and social factors in expressing their experiences with inclusive education process.