Elementary School Teacher Perceptions and Attitudes Toward Inclusive Education in Liberia: A Phenomenological Qualitative Research Approach

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to understand Liberian elementary school teachers' attitudes and their perceptions toward inclusive education for children with disabilities in mainstream classrooms in Monrovia City, Liberia. The participants were ten elementary school teachers. The theory that guided this study was Albert Bandura's social learning theory, which relates to social interactions and learning. The social learning theory surmises that learning and socialization occur in four phases. These stages are attention, retention, reproduction, and motivation. The central research question is: What are the perceptions and attitudes of Liberian elementary school educators implementing inclusive education for students with disabilities? I used a qualitative transcendental research design to understand the views and perceptions of the participants. This study used the triangulation method for data analysis. The data collection methods were individual interviews, focus group sessions, and observations. This qualitative study used Moustakas’ data analysis techniques. The results showed that nine out of ten participants were not trained in special or inclusive education and were unfamiliar with developing individualized educational plans. The results also suggested that seven out of 10 of the participants' attitudes were favorable towards teaching students with disabilities.