ABSTRACT

SINCE 2006, THE GOVERNMENT OF MACAU HAS BEEN PROMOTING INCLUSIVE EDUCATION.  THIS HAS NOW BEEN ONGOING FOR SEVENTEEN YEARS. AS EDUCATION POLICIES GRADUALLY  IMPROVE, THE FOCUS HAS SHIFTED FROM STUDENTS IN INCLUSIVE SETTINGS TO THE REALM OF  TEACHERS. WITH AN INCREASING NUMBER OF INCLUSIVE STUDENTS, THE CORRESPONDING WORK  PRESSURES FACED BY TEACHERS HAS ALSO INCREASED. THE AIMS OF THIS STUDY ARE TO BETTER  UNDERSTAND THE WORK-RELATED STRESS, SOURCES OF STRESS, AND SUBSEQUENT COPING  STRATEGIES USED BY MAINSTREAMTEACHERS WITHIN THE INCLUSIVE EDUCATION SECTOR OF  MACAU. THIS STUDY USED QUALITATIVE RESEARCH METHODS, INTERVIEWING TWELVE FRONTLINE  TEACHERS FROM EIGHT DIFFERENT PRIVATE PRIMARY EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS. EIGHT OF THESE  TEACHERS WORK IN SCHOOLS PRACTICING INCLUSIVE EDUCATION, WHILE FOUR WERE EMPLOYED IN  REGULAR SCHOOLS. HOWEVER, ALL TWELVE PARTICIPATING TEACHERS HAD EXPERIENCE IN  TEACHING INCLUSIVE STUDENTS BUT ALSO LACKED ANY SPECIALIZED BACKGROUND IN SPECIAL  EDUCATION. FOLLOWING AND OBTAINING AND METICULOUSLY ANALYZING INTERVIEW DATA,  SUPPORTED BY RELEVANT LITERATURE, THE STUDY FINDINGS ARE PRESENTED AS FOLLOWS: 1. VIEWS AND ATTITUDES OF REGULAR TEACHERS IN INCLUSIVE SCHOOLS TOWARDS  INCLUSIVE EDUCATION THE INTERVIEWED TEACHERS SUPPORT THE CONCEPT OF INCLUSIVE EDUCATION BUT  WERE CONCERNED ABOUT STUDENT BEHAVIORS AND THEIR LEARNING CHALLENGES.  THESE CONCERNS INCLUDED INAPPROPRIATE BEHAVIORS, LEARNING DISABILITIES, AND  THE TEACHERS’ OWN PEDAGOGICAL DEMANDS. IN MANAGING STUDENT BEHAVIORS,  TEACHERS FOUND IT DIFFICULT TO HANDLE THE EMOTIONAL CONTROL OF INCLUSIVE STUDENTS, LEADING TO DISRUPTIONS IN CLASS. REGARDING LEARNING, TEACHERS HAD TO  USE ADDITIONAL AND EXTRA TIME ON AFTER-CLASS TUTORING, INCREASING THEIR  WORKLOAD. TEACHING INCLUSIVE STUDENTS ALSO COMPLICATED THE INSTRUCTION,  REQUIRING TEACHERS TO UNDERGO ADDITIONAL TRAINING AND PREPARATION. 2. WORK-RELATED STRESS AND ITS SOURCES AMONG REGULAR TEACHERS WITHIN  INCLUSIVE SCHOOLS THE PARTICIPATING TEACHERS RATED THEIR STRESS-RESILIENCE AS NOT LOW, BUT RATHER  THEY EXPERIENCED MEDIUM TO HIGH LEVELS OF WORK-RELATED STRESS, MAINLY DUE TO  LONG WORKING HOURS AND EXTENSIVE WORKLOADS. THE STUDY IDENTIFIES FOUR MAIN  SOURCES OF STRESS: （I） THE NATURE OF WORK, INCLUDING EXTENSIVE TEACHING AND  NON-TEACHING TASKS, INCLUDING HEAVY CLASS MANAGEMENT, OR MULTIPLE ROLES. （II） SOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS, WHERE REGULAR TEACHERS LACKED AN UNDERSTANDING OF  RESOURCE TEACHERS’ ROLES, LEADING TO INEFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION AND AN  UNDERUTILIZATION OF RESOURCE TEACHERS IN SCHOOLS. （III） ORGANIZATIONAL  STRUCTURE, WHERE SCHOOLS INVOLVED IN INCLUSIVE EDUCATION REQUIRED  IMPROVEMENTS IN FACILITIES AND TEACHING ENVIRONMENTS, PARTICULARLY IN THE  SAFETY OF SPORTS AREAS. ADDITIONALLY, NOT ALL MAINSTREAM TEACHERS HAD ACCESS TO  INCLUSIVE EDUCATION RESOURCES, AND THE INSTRUCTIONAL ADJUSTMENTS FOR INCLUSIVE  STUDENTS DID NOT FULLY MEET THEIR NEEDS. （IV） SOCIAL ASPECTS, WHERE THE  PUBLIC DID NOT FULLY UNDERSTAND THE CONCEPTS OF INCLUSIVE EDUCATION, AND  EXPECTATIONS ON TEACHERS WERE EXCESSIVELY HIGH. FURTHERMORE, TEACHERS WERE  DISSATISFIED WITH THEIR SALARIES AND BENEFITS, WHICH THEY FELT WERE NOT  COMMENSURATE WITH THEIR HEAVY WORKLOAD. THE STUDY ALSO FOUND THAT FEMALE TEACHERS FACED ADDITIONAL STRESS FROM BOTH WORK AND FAMILY RESPONSIBILITIES, AS  THEY ALSO BEAR THE BURDEN OF CARING FOR AND EDUCATING THEIR OWN CHILDREN AT  HOME. 3. RESPONSES AND COPING METHODS OF REGULAR TEACHERS IN INCLUSIVE SCHOOLS TO  WORK-RELATED STRESS THE STUDY ANALYZED THE NEGATIVE IMPACTS OF WORK-RELATED STRESS ON TEACHERS’  PHYSICAL HEALTH, PSYCHOLOGICAL STATE, AND BEHAVIOR. THE IMPACTS INCLUDED  POOR SLEEP QUALITY OR INSOMNIA AND EMOTIONAL STATES OF WORRY AND ANXIETY. IN  RESPONSE TO STRESS, TEACHERS ENGAGED IN COMMUNICATION AND SOCIAL ACTIVITIES,  EXERCISE AND REST, AND DIETARY ADJUSTMENTS. HOWEVER, THESE STRESS-RELIEF  METHODS DID NOT EFFECTIVELY ADDRESS THE ROOT CAUSES OF THE STRESS, MAKING  LONG-TERM STRESS MANAGEMENT A CRUCIAL ISSUE FOR TEACHERS. BASED ON THE FINDINGS REGARDING STRESS PERCEPTIONS, SOURCES, AND COPING  METHODS, THE RESEARCHER PROPOSES RECOMMENDATIONS FOR TEACHERS, EDUCATIONAL  INSTITUTIONS, AND RELEVANT GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENTS, WITH AN AIM TO SUPPORT AND AID  FUTURE POLICYMAKING IN THE AREA OF INCLUSIVE EDUCATION IN MACAU