A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts (Clinical Psychology) in the Department of Psychology University of Zululand, 2002. / To provide equal access to education, it is required that children be placed in the least restrictive environment that will promote their academic and social development. Schools are therefore integrating learners with special education needs (LSEN) from segregated special education settings into mainstream schools. Educators play a crucial role in the integration process, thus knowledge of their attitudes is important. The study focuses on the attitudes of educators towards LSEN and the attitudes of educators towards the integration of LSEN into mainstream schools. A study of the literature was undertaken and guided by those insights a questionnaire was drawn up. This was distributed to educators and the information was statistically analyzed and presented. The questionnaire consisted of scales that measured attitudes. The relationship of educator attitudes to such educator variables as age, gender and experience in education was examined. The study revealed that educators hold favourable attitudes to both LSEN and the integration of LSEN into the mainstream. It was also found that male educators hold more favourable attitudes than female educators. Educator variables, age and number of years teaching experience were found to not significantly effect attitudes. Results from this study will enable programmes and policy implementation and development concerning the integration process of LSEN into the mainstream environment.

A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Education in fulfillment or partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Education in the Department of Educational Psychology and Special Education at the University of Zululand, 2003. / The present investigation had three objectives. The first aim was to examine educators' attitudes towards inclusive education. The second aim was to determine the extent to which educators were influenced by factors such as qualifications, age, gender, phase, experience, and class size. The third aim was to find out whether educators who have contact with special education personnel, hold positive attitudes towards inclusive education. The questionnaire was administered to groups of black and white educators teaching in mainstream settings, a remedial centre and in a pilot school for inclusive education in KwaZulu-Natal. Fifty-eight percent of the educators were found to have negative attitudes towards inclusive education, whereas forty-two percent displayed a positive attitude towards inclusive education. Results also indicated that the variables of age, gender, qualification, experience, grade and class-size have an influence on educators' attitudes towards inclusive education. The results furthermore show that fifty-nine percent of educators did not have contact with special education personnel and that the majority of this group hold negative attitudes towards inclusive education. Forty-one percent of educators had contact with special education personnel and the majority of this group had positive attitudes towards inclusive education. Therefore, it is concluded that educators' contact with special education personnel influenced their attitudes towards inclusion of disabled learners in mainstream settings.