Stakeholders’ perceptions and attitudes towards inclusion of Children in street situations in mainstream education in Uganda

Abstract

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goal number four target five seeks to eliminate all forms of discrimination in education for marginalized groups including children in vulnerable situations like those in street situations. However, their inclusion in mainstream education has not been examined. Literature identifies stakeholders’ perceptions and attitudes as the major determinant of inclusive education. This study, therefore, aimed to examine stakeholders’ perceptions and attitudes towards the inclusion of children in street situations in mainstream education in Kampala district. The study objectives were: to explore perceptions of children in street situations towards their inclusion; to assess the teachers’ attitude towards inclusion of children in street situations; to assess the head teachers’ attitude towards school-based support for the inclusion of children in street situations, and to explore the perceptions towards collaborative practices amongst stakeholders for enabling the inclusion of children in street situations in mainstream education. Self-perception theory by Daryl Bem and Social-constructivism theory by Lev Vygotsky guided this study. The study involved 40 schools from which 264 teachers and 33 head teachers were selected by Simple random sampling. Additionally, nine children in street situations who are school dropouts, and five officials from government and Non-governmental organizations were selected purposively. A pragmatic paradigm was adopted employing a convergent parallel mixed method research design. Quantitative data were collected using a questionnaire and qualitative data were collected using semi-structured interviews. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics while qualitative data were analyzed using thematic analysis. Quantitative results revealed that teachers’ attitude (F (3, 259) = 0.807, P > 0.05) and head teachers’ attitude (F (1, 29) =1.558, p>0.05) were insignificant hence were not strong predictors for educational inclusion of children in street situations. Likewise, qualitative findings revealed that teachers’ and head teachers’ attitudes do not anticipate educational access to children in street situations. The perceptions of children in street situations revealed that they encounter social, environmental, financial, and interpersonal barriers that hinder them from attending regular schools. Respondents perceived collaboration as key to effectively include children in street situations in education. However, there were limited stakeholder collaborative practices regarding the inclusion of children in street situations in education. The study thus concluded that stakeholders’ perceptions provided good insights towards supporting educational inclusion efforts of children in street situations in Kampala, Uganda even though their attitudes were not a major hindrance to this educational inclusion. The study, therefore, recommended that the government through her institutions should eliminate barriers to education that children in street situations encounter with adequate support and services, adopt inclusive education skills iThe United Nations Sustainable Development Goal number four target five seeks to eliminate all forms of discrimination in education for marginalized groups including children in vulnerable situations like those in street situations. However, their inclusion in mainstream education has not been examined. Literature identifies stakeholders’ perceptions and attitudes as the major determinant of inclusive education. This study, therefore, aimed to examine stakeholders’ perceptions and attitudes towards the inclusion of children in street situations in mainstream education in Kampala district. The study objectives were: to explore perceptions of children in street situations towards their inclusion; to assess the teachers’ attitude towards inclusion of children in street situations; to assess the head teachers’ attitude towards school-based support for the inclusion of children in street situations, and to explore the perceptions towards collaborative practices amongst stakeholders for enabling the inclusion of children in street situations in mainstream education. Self-perception theory by Daryl Bem and Social-constructivism theory by Lev Vygotsky guided this study. The study involved 40 schools from which 264 teachers and 33 head teachers were selected by Simple random sampling. Additionally, nine children in street situations who are school dropouts, and fivThe United Nations Sustainable Development Goal number four target five seeks to eliminate all forms of discrimination in education for marginalized groups including children in vulnerable situations like those in street situations. However, their inclusion in mainstream education has not been examined. Literature identifies stakeholders’ perceptions and attitudes as the major determinant of inclusive education. This study, therefore, aimed to examine stakeholders’ perceptions and attitudes towards the inclusion of children in street situations in mainstream education in Kampala district. The study objectives were: to explore perceptions of children in street situations towards their inclusion; to assess the teachers’ attitude towards inclusion of children in street situations; to assess the head teachers’ attitude towards school-based support for the inclusion of children in street situations, and to explore the perceptions towards collaborative practices amongst stakeholders for enabling the inclusion of children in street situations in mainstream education. Self-perception theory by Daryl Bem and Social-constructivism theory by Lev Vygotsky guided this study. The study involved 40 schools from which 264 teachers and 33 head teachers were selected by Simple random sampling. Additionally, nine children in street situations who are school dropouts, and five officials from government and Non-governmental organizations were selected purposively. A pragmatic paradigm was adopted employing a convergent parallel mixed method research design. Quantitative data were collected using a questionnaire and qualitative data were collected using semi-structured interviews. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics while qualitative data were analyzed using thematic analysis. Quantitative results revealed that teachers’ attitude (F (3, 259) = 0.807, P > 0.05) and head teachers’ attitude (F (1, 29) =1.558, p>0.05) were insignificant hence were not strong predictors for educational inclusion of children in street situations. Likewise, qualitative findings revealed that teachers’ and head teachers’ attitudes do not anticipate educational access to children in street situations. The perceptions of children in street situations revealed that they encounter social, environmental, financial, and interpersonal barriers that hinder them from attending regular schools. Respondents perceived collaboration as key to effectively include children in street situations in education. However, there were limited stakeholder collaborative practices regarding the inclusion of children in street situations in education. The study thus concluded that stakeholders’ perceptions provided good insights towards supporting educational inclusion efforts of children in street situations in Kampala, Uganda even though their attitudes were not a major hindrance to this educational inclusion. The study, therefore, recommended that the government through her institutions should eliminate barriers to education that children in street situations encounter with adequate support and services, adopt inclusive education skills iThe United Nations Sustainable Development Goal number four target five seeks to eliminate all forms of discrimination in education for marginalized groups including children in vulnerable situations like those in street situations. However, their inclusion in mainstream education has not been examined. Literature identifies stakeholders’ perceptions and attitudes as the major determinant of inclusive education. This study, therefore, aimed to examine stakeholders’ perceptions and attitudes towards the inclusion of children in street situations in mainstream education in Kampala district. The study objectives were: to explore perceptions of children in street situations towards their inclusion; to assess the teachers’ attitude towards inclusion of children in street situations; to assess the head teachers’ attitude towards school-based support for the inclusion of children in street situations, and to explore the perceptions towards collaborative practices amongst stakeholders for enabling the inclusion of children in street situations in mainstream education. Self-perception theory by Daryl Bem and Social-constructivism theory by Lev Vygotsky guided this study. The study involved 40 schools from which 264 teachers and 33 head teachers were selected by Simple random sampling. Additionally, nine children in street situations who are school dropouts, and five officials from government and Non-governmental organizations were selected purposively. A pragmatic paradigm was adopted employing a convergent parallel mixed method research design. Quantitative data were collected using a questionnaire and qualitative data were collected using semi-structured interviews. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics while qualitative data were analyzed using thematic analysis. Quantitative results revealed that teachers’ attitude (F (3, 259) = 0.807, P > 0.05) and head teachers’ attitude (F (1, 29) =1.558, p>0.05) were insignificant hence were not strong predictors for educational inclusion of children in street situations. Likewise, qualitative findings revealed that teachers’ and head teachers’ attitudes do not anticipate educational access to children in street situations. The perceptions of children in street situations revealed that they encounter social, environmental, financial, and interpersonal barriers that hinder them from attending regular schools. Respondents perceived collaboration as key to effectively include children in street situations in education. However, there were limited stakeholder collaborative practices regarding the inclusion of children in street situations in education. The study thus concluded that stakeholders’ perceptions provided good insights towards supporting educational inclusion efforts of children in street situations in Kampala, Uganda even though their attitudes were not a major hindrance to this educational inclusion. The study, therefore, recommended that the government through her institutions should eliminate barriers to education that children in street situations encounter with adequate support and services, adopt inclusive education skills in teacher professional development, assess schools’ preparedness for inclusion, and strengthen collaborative practices amongst stakeholders through policy formulation and allocation of funds to implement a well-designed educational program based on the learning needs of children in street situations.n teacher professional development, assess schools’ preparedness for inclusion, and strengthen collaborative practices amongst stakeholders through policy formulation and allocation of funds to implement a well-designed educational program based on the learning needs of children in street situations.e officials from government and Non-governmental organizations were selected purposively. A pragmatic paradigm was adopted employing a convergent parallel mixed method research design. Quantitative data were collected using a questionnaire and qualitative data were collected using semi-structured interviews. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics while qualitative data were analyzed using thematic analysis. Quantitative results revealed that teachers’ attitude (F (3, 259) = 0.807, P > 0.05) and head teachers’ attitude (F (1, 29) =1.558, p>0.05) were insignificant hence were not strong predictors for educational inclusion of children in street situations. Likewise, qualitative findings revealed that teachers’ and head teachers’ attitudes do not anticipate educational access to children in street situations. The perceptions of children in street situations revealed that they encounter social, environmental, financial, and interpersonal barriers that hinder them from attending regular schools. Respondents perceived collaboration as key to effectively include children in street situations in education. However, there were limited stakeholder collaborative practices regarding the inclusion of children in street situations in education. The study thus concluded that stakeholders’ perceptions provided good insights towards supporting educational inclusion efforts of children in street situations in Kampala, Uganda even though their attitudes were not a major hindrance to this educational inclusion. The study, therefore, recommended that the government through her institutions should eliminate barriers to education that children in street situations encounter with adequate support and services, adopt inclusive education skills iThe United Nations Sustainable Development Goal number four target five seeks to eliminate all forms of discrimination in education for marginalized groups including children in vulnerable situations like those in street situations. However, their inclusion in mainstream education has not been examined. Literature identifies stakeholders’ perceptions and attitudes as the major determinant of inclusive education. This study, therefore, aimed to examine stakeholders’ perceptions and attitudes towards the inclusion of children in street situations in mainstream education in Kampala district. The study objectives were: to explore perceptions of children in street situations towards their inclusion; to assess the teachers’ attitude towards inclusion of children in street situations; to assess the head teachers’ attitude towards school-based support for the inclusion of children in street situations, and to explore the perceptions towards collaborative practices amongst stakeholders for enabling the inclusion of children in street situations in mainstream education. Self-perception theory by Daryl Bem and Social-constructivism theory by Lev Vygotsky guided this study. The study involved 40 schools from which 264 teachers and 33 head teachers were selected by Simple random sampling. Additionally, nine children in street situations who are school dropouts, and five officials from government and Non-governmental organizations were selected purposively. A pragmatic paradigm was adopted employing a convergent parallel mixed method research design. Quantitative data were collected using a questionnaire and qualitative data were collected using semi-structured interviews. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics while qualitative data were analyzed using thematic analysis. Quantitative results revealed that teachers’ attitude (F (3, 259) = 0.807, P > 0.05) and head teachers’ attitude (F (1, 29) =1.558, p>0.05) were insignificant hence were not strong predictors for educational inclusion of children in street situations. Likewise, qualitative findings revealed that teachers’ and head teachers’ attitudes do not anticipate educational access to children in street situations. The perceptions of children in street situations revealed that they encounter social, environmental, financial, and interpersonal barriers that hinder them from attending regular schools. Respondents perceived collaboration as key to effectively include children in street situations in education. However, there were limited stakeholder collaborative practices regarding the inclusion of children in street situations in education. The study thus concluded that stakeholders’ perceptions provided good insights towards supporting educational inclusion efforts of children in street situations in Kampala, Uganda even though their attitudes were not a major hindrance to this educational inclusion. The study, therefore, recommended that the government through her institutions should eliminate barriers to education that children in street situations encounter with adequate support and services, adopt inclusive education skills in teacher professional development, assess schools’ preparedness for inclusion, and strengthen collaborative practices amongst stakeholders through policy formulation and allocation of funds to implement a well-designed educational program based on the learning needs of children in street situations.n teacher professional development, assess schools’ preparedness for inclusion, and strengthen collaborative practices amongst stakeholders through policy formulation and allocation of funds to implement a well-designed educational program based on the learning needs of children in street situations.n teacher professional development, assess schools’ preparedness for inclusion, and strengthen collaborative practices amongst stakeholders through policy formulation and allocation of funds to implement a well-designed educational program based on the learning needs of children in street situations.