ERIC Number: EJ1031072
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2014-Jul
Pages: 20
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1030-0112
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Attitudes of Principals towards Students with Disruptive Behaviour: An Australian Perspective
Wood, Paul; Evans, David; Spandagou, Ilektra
Australasian Journal of Special Education, v38 n1 p14-33 Jul 2014
This paper reports on the attitudes of 340 government primary principals from New South Wales, Australia, towards the inclusion of students with disruptive behaviours in schools. Principals' attitudes were examined using the Principals and Behaviour Survey (PABS), a new composite measure built upon a foundation of existing validated surveys on attitudes towards the inclusion of students with disabilities. Principal component analysis identified 3 components that were used as variables for correlations with a range of demographic characteristics, such as age, qualifications, experience, school size and location. School size and the number of students with a diagnosed mental health condition in the school had a small relationship with principals' attitudes. From the analysis of data from the emotional response scale, it was found that principals' emotions about inclusion were less positive towards students with disruptive behaviour than towards students with sensory, physical or intellectual disabilities. Overall, principals appeared to hold dichotomous positions in regard to the benefits of inclusion, viewing it as beneficial for students with disruptive behaviour but not for their peers. However, principals who held more positive views were consistently more positive across all measures.
Descriptors: Student Behavior, Behavior Problems, Administrator Attitudes, Principals, Inclusion, Behavior Rating Scales, Predictor Variables, Correlation, School Size, Age Differences, Qualifications, Work Experience, School Location, Foreign Countries
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
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Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Australia
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A