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Advocacy for inclusive education has been connected with the United Nations' global poverty alleviation guidelines, the Sustainable Development Goals, which appeal to countries to extend universal access to education, from primary to secondary schooling. In the Ghanaian context, the implementation of inclusive education in secondary schools has been under-explored. In this study, we adopted Ajzen's theory of planned behaviour as a framework to explore demographic variables which could impact on teachers' intentions to practise inclusive education in secondary schools. We recruited 457 teachers from five districts in one region in Ghana. "T"-test and analysis of variance were used to ascertain the association between demographic variables and intentions. We found no significant differences between participants based on school resourcing or location. However, participants in private schools had attitudes that were more positive, they felt they received more support, had higher self-efficacy, and were more willing to include children with disabilities in their classrooms than teachers in public schools. Also, we found a difference between participants on units of study taken in inclusive education during pre-service training and their level of confidence to practise inclusive education. The need for teacher educators to embed more inclusive teaching practices in all courses at teacher training institutions is discussed, as well as other study implications.

The intention of teachers towards adopting inclusive practices is vital to determining teaching behaviour in classrooms. Although some previous studies have reported that variables such as attitudes, subjective norms and self-efficacy combine to predict intention of teachers, such studies are sparse in sub-Saharan Africa and mainly limited to primary school teachers. In this study, the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) was adopted as a framework to study the predictors of intentions of teachers towards inclusive education in secondary schools in Ghana. Four scales, developed to reflect the elements of TPB, were used to collect data from 457 secondary school teachers. Only the two determinants, attitude and self-efficacy, combined to significantly predict the intention of teachers towards practising inclusive education. Interestingly, there was no relationship between subjective norms and intention towards inclusive education. The need for teacher educators to prioritise the two variables, in attempt to promote inclusive practices in secondary schools in Ghana, is also discussed.

For the past 15 years (2003-2018), Ghana has followed international frameworks and taken steps to implement inclusive education. This has triggered research that seeks to assess effectiveness of practices by documenting the perspectives and experiences of key stakeholders such as parents and other educators. This study took stock of the research evidence to appraise the effectiveness of inclusive education practices, identify gaps in the literature and draw attention to areas that policymakers could strengthen to advance those practices. Adopting Ainscow and Miles's (2009. "Developing Inclusive Education Systems: How Can We Move Policies Forward." https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/e849/cf5de98a03304867093fff0a5d8265a6e20e.pdf) inclusive education measurement indicators as a conceptual framework, we reviewed empirical studies that have been conducted on inclusive education in Ghana since the policy was formally incorporated into the education system. Ten databases, along with manual searches in journals and the reference lists of selected articles, yielded a total of 426 studies, of which 35 satisfied the pre-determined inclusion and quality-assessment criteria. We found barriers to inclusive practices at all levels of education. Teachers in particular have not been adequately informed and supported to teach students with disabilities in regular classrooms. The implications of the findings for policymaking and future research are discussed in detail.

Advocacy for inclusive education has been connected with the United Nations' global poverty alleviation guidelines, the Sustainable Development Goals, which appeal to countries to extend universal access to education, from primary to secondary schooling. In the Ghanaian context, the implementation of inclusive education in secondary schools has been under-explored. In this study, we adopted Ajzen's theory of planned behaviour as a framework to explore demographic variables which could impact on teachers' intentions to practise inclusive education in secondary schools. We recruited 457 teachers from five districts in one region in Ghana. T-test and analysis of variance were used to ascertain the association between demographic variables and intentions. We found no significant differences between participants based on school resourcing or location. However, participants in private schools had attitudes that were more positive, they felt they received more support, had higher self-efficacy, and were more willing to include children with disabilities in their classrooms than teachers in public schools. Also, we found a difference between participants on units of study taken in inclusive education during pre-service training and their level of confidence to practise inclusive education. The need for teacher educators to embed more inclusive teaching practices in all courses at teacher training institutions is discussed, as well as other study implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The intention of teachers towards adopting inclusive practices is vital to determining teaching behaviour in classrooms. Although some previous studies have reported that variables such as attitudes, subjective norms and self-efficacy combine to predict intention of teachers, such studies are sparse in sub-Saharan Africa and mainly limited to primary school teachers. In this study, the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) was adopted as a framework to study the predictors of intentions of teachers towards inclusive education in secondary schools in Ghana. Four scales, developed to reflect the elements of TPB, were used to collect data from 457 secondary school teachers. Only the two determinants, attitude and self-efficacy, combined to significantly predict the intention of teachers towards practising inclusive education. Interestingly, there was no relationship between subjective norms and intention towards inclusive education. The need for teacher educators to prioritise the two variables, in attempt to promote inclusive practices in secondary schools in Ghana, is also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For the past 15 years (2003–2018), Ghana has followed international frameworks and taken steps to implement inclusive education. This has triggered research that seeks to assess effectiveness of practices by documenting the perspectives and experiences of key stakeholders such as parents and other educators. This study took stock of the research evidence to appraise the effectiveness of inclusive education practices, identify gaps in the literature and draw attention to areas that policymakers could strengthen to advance those practices. Adopting Ainscow and Miles's (2009. Developing Inclusive Education Systems: How Can We Move Policies Forward. ) inclusive education measurement indicators as a conceptual framework, we reviewed empirical studies that have been conducted on inclusive education in Ghana since the policy was formally incorporated into the education system. Ten databases, along with manual searches in journals and the reference lists of selected articles, yielded a total of 426 studies, of which 35 satisfied the pre-determined inclusion and quality-assessment criteria. We found barriers to inclusive practices at all levels of education. Teachers in particular have not been adequately informed and supported to teach students with disabilities in regular classrooms. The implications of the findings for policymaking and future research are discussed in detail. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]