Introduction
The term ‘inclusive education’ is nowadays broadly conceptualised to include students from different backgrounds and with languages other than English, as well as students with disabilities (Ashman, 2002). However, for the purposes of this study, ‘the term inclusion is defined as partial or full inclusion in regular classrooms, with the level of inclusion being dependent upon the severity and number of disabilities and the level of additional support available for that student’ (Fuchs & Fuchs, 1994, cited in McNally, Cole & Waugh, 2001, p. 258). A successful system of inclusion requires that the community believe in the competence of the education system to meet the needs of all students. Parents especially have to have confidence in the capacity of the schools tounderstand and effectively educate their children with special needs. Given the current policies of inclusive education, children with special needs are increasingly being educated with their non-disabled peers in the regular classroom. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the attitudes of parents of students with disabilities, with regard to the inclusion of their children within the regular education system. The research literature indicates that there is a wide range of opinion amongst parents related to the placement of children in educational settings. Some parents prefer and advocate for inclusive placement, while others favour separate placement (Grove & Fisher, 1999).
As the trend towards inclusion grows, one of the chief concerns of parents is the protection of support services for their child. Daniel and King (1997) found that parents were more concerned about the degree to which their child’s individual education plan (IEP) actually addressed the needs of their child when the child was being educated in an inclusive setting, as opposed to a