Factors affecting the attitudes of principals of saudi general education public schools toward the inclusion of students with disabilities.
Saudi principals already back inclusion—give them ABA training so their schools can deliver on that promise.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Aldosari (2024) asked every public-school principal in Saudi Arabia to fill out a short survey. The survey asked how they feel about having students with disabilities in their schools.
The team also asked how much special-education training each principal had, how long they had served, and whether they had a family member or friend with a disability.
What they found
Most principals already liked inclusion. The ones who liked it best had taken special-education courses, had personal ties to disability, or had been a principal for many years.
Training showed the strongest link to positive attitudes.
How this fits with other research
Alsulami et al. (2024) asked Saudi parents the same question and got the same warm answer. Parents and principals agree: inclusion is good.
Brugnaro et al. (2024) paints a darker picture. They asked Saudi teachers and parents about the current special-education curriculum for students with intellectual disability. That study calls the curriculum "poor" and says it fails to teach life skills. The two papers seem to clash—leaders like inclusion, yet the program is weak. The gap is real: support is high, but quality is low.
Howard et al. (2019) helps explain the gap. Saudi special-ed teachers told interviewers they lack autism-specific training and feel boxed in by heavy ministry rules. Principals may be ready, but teachers say they need better tools.
Why it matters
You now know the top boss is already on your side. Use that goodwill. Offer short, practical training sessions for principals and their teachers on ABA basics, data sheets, and behavior plans. When the principal sees how your tools fix the "poor curriculum" problem, you gain an ally who can free up time, space, and staff for your students.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
BACKGROUND: Research has indicated that the attitudes of principals toward students with disabilities may affect the success of the implementation of inclusive programs in schools. This study was designed to address a gap in the research regarding Saudi principals' attitudes toward inclusion. Relationships between attitudes and a number of variables were analyzed (i.e., gender, years of experience, level of school, type of student disability, personal relationships with individuals with disabilities). METHODS AND PROCEDURE: The study sample was drawn from the 600 public general education elementary, middle, and high schools with special education programs in Riyadh (n = 366 schools) and Jeddah (n = 234 schools) in Saudi Arabia. Each of the principals of these schools for AY2022/2023 was sent an email invitation to participate. A total of 403 respondents (67.17% response rate) successfully completed Bailey's (2004) Principals' Attitudes Toward Inclusive Education (PATIE) scale via electronic survey link. RESULTS AND OUTCOMES: Overall, the research found that Saudi principals of public general education schools have positive attitudes toward inclusion. The factors of training in special education, personal experience with individuals with disabilities, and years of experience as principal were found to be significant in regard to more positive attitudes. Conversely, the variables of gender, level of school, and type of student disability were not found to correlate with more or less positive attitudes. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: While the findings of the study bode well for the implementation of inclusion in Saudi public schools, certain limitations exist, including that the study sample was entirely drawn from the two largest cities in the country. In addition, the Saudi Ministry of Education has created an incentive plan that provides financial bonuses to principals at public schools who implement inclusive and special education programming in their schools. This indicates that the target population of this study might be more inclined to be positive toward inclusion than their colleagues at private schools. The findings have implications for expanding special education training in university teacher education programs and the creation of public awareness programs designed to improve understanding of disabilities and how inclusion positively impacts society as a whole.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2024 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2024.104720