Analysing The Different Students’ Science Mental State between Regular Students, Grey Students, and Special Needs Students in Inclusive Schools: A Case Study

For educators and schools, implementing inclusive education has brought both opportunities and obstacles. Students' mental health has a significant impact on their capacity to participate in and excel in science classes. This study aimed to analyse the differences in the mental state of science between regular and special needs students within an inclusive school. The research subject is 42 students in grades 7, 8, and 9 from one of the inclusive schools in Bandung. The sample was divided into regular, grey, and special needs students based on the school classification obtained. This study used a quantitative method survey research design. A mental state learning environment questionnaire (MSLEQ) and open-ended questions were used as instruments to assess students’ science mental state. The data was analysed by using the SPSS Program one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). The result shows that there are at least two significant differences in students’ science mental state scores between regular students, grey students, and special needs students. Based on the post-hoc Tukey HSD test, a significant difference is shown between regular students and grey as well as special needs students. The mean index analysis of each factor shows that the significant difference is in external mental representation. Most regular and special needs students argued that experiments made them more interested in learning science. Meanwhile, most of the grey students failed to describe their opinions. Regular students explained that many scientific terms to be memorised made them less interested in learning science. Grey students are more likely to avoid experimenting. Meanwhile, students with special needs were given unrelated answers about what made them less interested in learning science.