Sociology of Special Education: Parents and Teachers’ Knowledge, Beliefs and Attitudes towards Persons with Disabilities in Abura-Asebu-Kwamankese District, Ghana

Abstract

The study investigated parents and teachers’ knowledge, beliefs, and attitudes towards persons with disabilities (PWDs) in the Abura-Asebu-Kwamankese  district using cross-sectional survey design. Multistage sampling procedures were used to select 400 subjects. Both quantitative and qualitative methods  were used to analyse the data. The results show that teachers demonstrated attitudes that were eufunctional to the education of PWDs while parents  showed attitudes that were dysfunctional to their education. Overall, parents and teachers’ knowledge, beliefs and attitudes are able to predict their  positive behaviours toward the education of PWDs substantially when these factors are functional to PWDs’ survival. This phenomenon can help boost  PWDs’ confidence. Therefore, management of the District Education Directorate should constantly organise sensitisation and advocacy programmes for  members of Parent Teacher Associations (PTAs) and family-heads on the rights of PWDs and how to manage them. This will help unlock the socio-cultural  barriers to the education of PWDs.