Teachers’ Attitudes and Intentions Towards the Use of Inclusive Practices in Saudi Arabian Schools

Alshalhoub, Nourah; Sharma, Umesh; Alsulaiman, Maha; May, Fiona; Alqahtani, Majed

doi:10.3390/su18105087

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Open AccessArticle

Teachers’ Attitudes and Intentions Towards the Use of Inclusive Practices in Saudi Arabian Schools

by

Nourah Alshalhoub

¹

,

Umesh Sharma

²

,

Maha Alsulaiman

^1,*

,

Fiona May

³

and

Majed Alqahtani

⁴

¹

Department of Teaching and Learning, College of Education and Human Development, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, P.O. Box 84428, Riyadh 11671, Saudi Arabia

²

Faculty of Humanities and Social Science, University of Nottingham Ningbo, Ningbo 315100, China

³

Faculty of Education, Monash University, 19 Ancora Imparo Way, Victoria 3800, Australia

⁴

Ministry of Education, King Abdullah Branch Rd, King Salman Neighbourhood, Riyadh 12435, Saudi Arabia

^*

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Sustainability 2026, 18(10), 5087; https://doi.org/10.3390/su18105087

Submission received: 16 November 2025 / Revised: 1 April 2026 / Accepted: 9 May 2026 / Published: 18 May 2026

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Education and the Sustainable Development Goals: A Global Agenda for Change)

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Abstract

This study investigated the attitudes and intentions towards the use of inclusive practices among teachers in Saudi schools, with a particular focus on the role of professional training in shaping these factors. Teachers are key to the implementation of inclusive education, and their training and attitudes are essential to effective teaching. Data were collected from 175 teachers, with participants completing the Attitudes to Inclusion Scale, Intention to Teach in Inclusive Classroom Scale, and Inclusive Practice Scale. The results indicate that teachers with more positive attitudes towards inclusion were more likely to express stronger intentions to teach in inclusive classrooms. The findings also highlighted the importance of professional development, emphasising the need for comprehensive training that addresses both theoretical and practical aspects of inclusion. There is a need for teacher training programmes that integrate both special education and inclusive teaching strategies to support teachers’ readiness to implement inclusive education in their classrooms.

Keywords: inclusive education; Sustainable Development Goal 4; teacher attitudes; inclusive teaching practices; teacher education

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MDPI and ACS Style

Alshalhoub, N.; Sharma, U.; Alsulaiman, M.; May, F.; Alqahtani, M. Teachers’ Attitudes and Intentions Towards the Use of Inclusive Practices in Saudi Arabian Schools. Sustainability 2026, 18, 5087. https://doi.org/10.3390/su18105087

AMA Style

Alshalhoub N, Sharma U, Alsulaiman M, May F, Alqahtani M. Teachers’ Attitudes and Intentions Towards the Use of Inclusive Practices in Saudi Arabian Schools. Sustainability. 2026; 18(10):5087. https://doi.org/10.3390/su18105087

Chicago/Turabian Style

Alshalhoub, Nourah, Umesh Sharma, Maha Alsulaiman, Fiona May, and Majed Alqahtani. 2026. "Teachers’ Attitudes and Intentions Towards the Use of Inclusive Practices in Saudi Arabian Schools" Sustainability 18, no. 10: 5087. https://doi.org/10.3390/su18105087

APA Style

Alshalhoub, N., Sharma, U., Alsulaiman, M., May, F., & Alqahtani, M. (2026). Teachers’ Attitudes and Intentions Towards the Use of Inclusive Practices in Saudi Arabian Schools. Sustainability, 18(10), 5087. https://doi.org/10.3390/su18105087

Note that from the first issue of 2016, this journal uses article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.

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Teachers’ Attitudes and Intentions Towards the Use of Inclusive Practices in Saudi Arabian Schools

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