Attitudes of Parents of Neurotypical Children Towards Inclusive Education in Cyprus and Greece

Abstract

Inclusion is among the greatest challenges worldwide for educational systems. The present study examines the attitudes towards inclusion of parents of neurotypical children attending inclusive mainstream primary schools in Cyprus and Greece. Moreover, it addresses potential links between parental inclusion attitudes and different aspects of inclusive education, such as accommodation of different special educational needs (SENs), willingness to establish contact with children with SENs and their families, and knowledge of the strengths and difficulties of children with SENs. The participants were 202 parents from Cyprus and 166 parents from Greece who filled in a 74-item questionnaire. The results indicated that both Greek and Cypriot parents held good knowledge of the characteristics of children with SENs and positive attitudes towards the inclusion of children with SENs. Both groups of parents believed that certain disability categories can be more easily accommodated in mainstream schools. Parental beliefs towards inclusion were found to moderately predict attitudes towards the accommodation of SENs, willingness to develop and maintain social contact with the families of children with SENs, and ability attribution to children with SENs. This study suggests the importance of taking into account parental factors to improve attitudes and behaviors towards inclusion.

1. Introduction

Inclusive education, which refers to the placement and full attendance of pupils with disabilities in age-appropriate mainstream schools in their own neighborhoods, in order to receive high-quality instruction, interventions, and support, has become compulsory in most European countries, as well as in the USA and Australia, through legislative and administrative changes and trends in educational philosophy (Opoku, 2020; Thomas & Vaughan, 2004) or initiatives by parents of children with disabilities (de Boer et al., 2010; Lampropoulou & Hadjikakou, 2010). Implementing inclusive education presents both challenges and key facilitators that influence its success (Deroncele-Acosta & Ellis, 2024). One major challenge is the lack of adequate training and resources for educators to address the diverse needs of all students, including those with disabilities. Additionally, inconsistent parental involvement can hinder progress, especially when families feel excluded from the decision-making process. Inclusive education thrives in schools where educators, parents, students and head teachers collaborate and are committed to fostering a supportive learning environment for every child (Kalyva et al., 2007; Lin et al., 2025; Palmer et al., 2001).

Parental attitudes play a considerable role in the implementation and sustainability of inclusion for a number of reasons (ElZein Lutfi, 2009; de Boer et al., 2010; Narot & Kiettikunwong, 2024; Okyere et al., 2019). Attitudes are generally considered to be enduring feelings that one has about a person, object, or issue (Olson & Zanna, 1993). As parents have become more concerned about the context and learning outcomes of instruction for their children, and more active in making educational decisions for them, it can be assumed that parents of children with Special Educational Needs (SENs) might influence policymakers to implement inclusive education (Jones et al., 2002). Their continued feedback and perspectives about inclusion are also crucial for the assessment, evaluation, and improvement of inclusive school environments (Leyser & Kirk, 2011). Then, “it seems reasonable to assume that in a positive environment, the implementation of inclusion is easier to accommodate. Teachers and support staff may be influenced by positive parental attitudes, which might result in an environment that supports the inclusion of children with special needs in regular schools” (de Boer et al., 2010, p. 166). Moreover, parents’ positive attitudes influence their children’s attitudes towards their peers with SENs (Dodur & Yüzbaşioğlu, 2025; Yu, 2021); thus, parents who are positive about inclusive education transfer positive attitudes to their children (de Boer et al., 2010). Furthermore, parents of neurotypical children can influence inclusive education if they believe that their children can benefit both socially and academically from inclusion because of the increase in the available teaching resources and diverse learning opportunities inside the classroom (Rafferty et al., 2001; Mavropalias et al., 2019). The present study, therefore, focused on the attitudes towards inclusion of parents of neurotypical children, recognizing the important role these parents can play.

In what follows, previous studies investigating solely the perceptions of parents of children with and without SENs towards inclusion, independently of the attitudes of practitioners (e.g., teachers, head-teachers) and pupils (with or without SENs), are reviewed. Apart from very few studies where the children attended special schools (Abu-Hamour & Muhaidat, 2014; Leyser & Kirk, 2004; Palmer et al., 2001) or where the educational setting was not specified (Torgbenu et al., 2021), the majority of them focused on parents whose children attended general schools. Those studies examined either solely the opinions of parents of children with SENs regarding inclusion, or the opinions of parents of children without SENs, or compared the attitudes of parents of children with SENs with those of parents of children without SENs. Several studies were carried out in the USA (Diamond & LeFurgy, 1994; Hilbert, 2014; Kelly, 2001; Leyser & Kirk, 2004, 2011; Palmer et al., 2001; Peck et al., 2004; Rafferty et al., 2001), while others were conducted in Australia (Elkins et al., 2003; Stevens & Wurf, 2020), Brazil (Barbosa et al., 2007), Canada (Loreman et al., 2009), Germany (Paseka & Schwab, 2020), Greece (Bopota et al., 2020; Christopoulou et al., 2023; Kalyva et al., 2007; Kokaridas et al., 2008; Mavropalias et al., 2019; Tafa & Manolitsis, 2003; Vlachou et al., 2016; Zaragas et al., 2020), Hong Kong (Lui et al., 2015), India (Mathur & Koradia, 2018; Saikia, 2016), Jordan (Abu-Hamour & Muhaidat, 2014), Lebanon (ElZein Lutfi, 2009), the Netherlands (de Boer & Munde, 2014), Nigeria (Torgbenu et al., 2021), Slovenia (Schmidt et al., 2020), Thailand (Sharma & Trory, 2019), and Zimbabwe (Mudekunye & Ndamba, 2011). Published work on parents’ attitudes towards inclusive education in Cyprus is, to our knowledge, non-existent.

1.1. Comparing the Attitudes of Parents of Children with and Without SENs

Table 1. Overview of studies which compare attitudes of parents of children with and without SENs.

Author(s)/Year	Country	Educational Setting	N		Tool	Findings
			SENs	NTD		SENs	NTD
Barbosa et al. (2007)	Brazil/city of São Paulo	General and municipal elementary schools	169	276	General Inventory of Attitudes toward Inclusive Education (IGAEI)	+>	+
Bopota et al. (2020)	Greece	General education primary schools	127	205	Greek version of the Attitude Survey Towards Inclusive Education—Parents	+	+
Diamond and LeFurgy (1994)	USA	Preschool regular and inclusive placements	23	80	Parent Perspectives on Integration Questionnaire at the beginning and the end of the school year	+	+
Hilbert (2014)	USA	Inclusive preschool programs	84	65	A Likert-type scale questionnaire	+/−	+/−
Kelly (2001)	USA	Public schools	370	65	A five-point Likert scale (1 = strongly disagree, 5 = strongly agree) questionnaire	+>	+
Loreman et al. (2009)	Canada/ Rural Alberta	Kindergarten to grade 12 in a rural school district	78	360	Parent Perceptions of Inclusion in Rural Canada (PPIRC) scale	+	+
Mudekunye and Ndamba (2011)	Zimbabwe/Masvingo	Four primary schools	40	40	Questionnaire	+/−	+/−
Rafferty et al. (2001)	USA/New York State	Reverse inclusion classes in community based preschool programme	165	79	The Impact of Inclusion on Children with Disabilities Scale, The Impact of Inclusion on Children Without Disabilities Scale	+	+
Schmidt et al. (2020)	Slovenia	Public kindergartens	85	117	The questionnaire:‘The Parental Attitudes towards Kindergarten Inclusion scale’	+>	+
Sharma and Trory (2019)	Thailand/Bangkok	Early Years Settings of inclusive mainstream schools	21	50	A mix of closed and open-ended questions	+/−	+/−
Stevens and Wurf (2020)	Australia	Mainstream government primary schools	8	36	The 18-item Attitudes Toward Inclusion/Mainstreaming (ATIM) scale	+	+
Torgbenu et al. (2021)	Nigeria	Not specified	129	535	Parents’ Attitudes towards Inclusive Education (PATIE) survey questionnaire	?	?

Note: + positive attitudes, − negative attitudes, > more positive attitudes, ? undecided, SENs: Special Educational Needs, NTD: Neurotypical Development.

presents an overview of the studies which compare the attitudes towards inclusion of parents of children with SENs and of parents of children with neurotypical development (NTD).

The findings of these studies indicate that both parents of children with SENs and parents of children without SENs tend to report positive attitudes towards the inclusion of children with SENs in mainstream educational settings (Sharma & Trory, 2019). However, certain issues emerge which are worth pointing out. First, even though both groups of parents appear to be positive toward inclusion, parents of children with SENs tend to hold stronger attitudes towards the inclusion of their children as compared to those of parents of children without SENs (Barbosa et al., 2007; Kelly, 2001; Schmidt et al., 2020). Secondly, parental attitudes to inclusion are often the result of strong cultural beliefs about SENs in the community (Mudekunye & Ndamba, 2011), or parental fear of community attitudes, financial and logistical reasons, leading to low levels of community involvement among parents of children with identified SENs (Loreman et al., 2009). Furthermore, prior positive experience in integrated school-based programs, and the severity of the SENs seem to play an important role in the formation of the inclusion attitudes among parents of children with and without SENs (Diamond & LeFurgy, 1994; Hilbert, 2014).

1.2. Attitudes of Parents of Children with SENs Towards Inclusive Education

Table 2. Overview of studies of the attitudes of parents of children with SENs towards inclusive education.

Author(s)/Year	Country	Educational Setting	Type of SENs	N	Tool	Findings
Abu-Hamour & Muhaidat (2014)	Jordan	Special education centers/schools	Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)	148	A 36-item-survey	+/−
Al-Zboon et al. (2023)	Jordan	Public kindergarten school	Hearing impairment, Intellectual disability, Visual impairment, Physical disability, Down syndrome, Autism spectrum disorder	250	A 37-item questionnaire	+/−
Christopoulou et al. (2023)	Greece	Public primary school	Disabilities (not specified)	125	Attitude Toward Inclusion/Mainstreaming Scale	+
Elkins et al. (2003)	Australia	State school	Learning Difficulties	354	Survey of Parents	+/−
ElZein Lutfi (2009)	Lebanon	Private general primary schools	Learning Difficulties	15	Interviews	+
Kokaridas et al. (2008)	Greece	General schools	Learning Difficulties	119	Attitude Toward Inclusion/Mainstreaming Scale	+
Leyser and Kirk (2004)	USA	All types of schools	Mild/Moderate/Severe disabilities	437	Opinions Related to Mainstreaming (ORM) Scale	+
Leyser and Kirk (2011)	USA	Public schools	Angelman Syndrome	68	Perceptions of Parents of Children with Angelman Syndrome toward School, qualitative data	+/−
Lui et al. (2015)	Hong Kong	Primary school-Regular classroom (according to age or ability)	Emotional and behavioral disorder, Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, Autism spectrum disorder, Communication disorder, Specific learning disability.	586	Parents’ Attitudes Towards Inclusive Education (PATIE)	+
Mathur & Koradia (2018)	India	Public mainstream schools	Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)	20	Parent’s Attitudes to Inclusion	+/−
Mavropalias et al. (2019)	Greece	Public primary and secondary schools	Intellectual Disabilities	83	Questionnaire examining parents’ perceptions on educational placement, benefits for children, and co-operation with teachers	+/−
Palmer et al. (2001)	USA	General and special schools	Severe disabilities	140	Analysis of written comments	+/−
Paseka & Schwab (2020)	Germany	regular class inclusive class	Learning Difficulties	2000	JAKO-O survey	+/−
Saikia (2016)	India	provincialized general elementary schools of Kamrup district	Learning Difficulties	110	A self-structured attitude scale	+/−

Note: + positive attitudes, − negative attitudes, SENs: Special Educational Needs.

presents an overview of studies focusing on the attitudes of parents of children with SENs towards inclusive education.

Five of the fourteen studies report positive attitudes of parents of children with SENs towards inclusion, while the rest report both positive and negative/neutral attitudes. Many parents of children with SENs were in favor of inclusive education, but they express several doubts and concerns, such as the lack of knowledge and skills by some teachers, the co-operation with them, the provision of appropriate resources and materials, administration and organizational issues, and the lack of individualized instruction. For instance, Paseka and Schwab (2020) reported that schools often lacked specialized equipment or sufficient support staff, directly impacting parents’ confidence in the educational provision. Similarly, Palmer et al. (2001) highlighted a significant concern among parents regarding insufficient teacher training, observing that many parents felt teachers were not adequately prepared to implement inclusive practices, particularly in managing diverse learning needs within the classroom. Parents’ apprehension about insufficient teacher training was a recurring theme. This concern is particularly salient given that it directly impacts their trust in the school’s ability to support their children’s development. A small group of parents prefers special placement, as reported in the study carried out by Leyser and Kirk (2011). An interesting finding revealed by Elkins et al. (2003) and Palmer et al. (2001) is that while most parents in their studies were in favor of inclusive education in general, more than 50% reported that they preferred special instead of regular classes for their own child, due to perceived deficits in teacher training in general schools. According to the study carried out by Saikia (2016), inclusive education in India is still developing and there is a need to overcome major legislative hurdles to make inclusive education more successful. Abu-Hamour and Muhaidat (2014) and Al-Zboon et al. (2023) point out that, in Jordan, the parents of children with SENs are a neglected group and need support to become aware of their children’s needs and develop positive attitudes to successful inclusion. Thus, the implementation of educational and awareness programs addressed to parents and to anyone interested is very important. In addition, further measures are necessary from both the part of the government and the school authorities to ensure quality education and to promote effective inclusion for children with SENs. To sum up, parents of children with SENs give support to inclusion from a philosophical and educational point of view, but they still have concerns about the social isolation and rejection of children with SENs, the negative attitudes, and the lack of support services (Kokaridas et al., 2008; Lui et al., 2015; Paseka & Schwab, 2020).

1.3. Attitudes of Parents of Children Without SENs Towards Inclusive Education

Table 3. Overview of studies of attitudes of parents of children without SENs towards inclusion.

Author(s)/Year	Country	Education setting	N	Tool	Findings
Albuquerque et al. (2018)	Portugal	Public schools	360	Children with Difficulties at School (CDS)	+/−
de Boer & Munde (2014)	the Netherlands	General primary schools	190	Attitude Survey toward Inclusive Education (ASIE)	+/−
Kalyva et al. (2007)	Greece	Public schools	338	My thinking about inclusion scale	+
Lei et al. (2025)	China	Public schools	6094	Specially designed survey	+
Peck et al. (2004)	USA	Public elementary schools	389	Questionnaire and narrative comments	+>
Tafa and Manolitsis (2003)	Greece	Kindergarten	290	Questionnaire and 2 open-ended questions	+
Vlachou et al. (2016)	Greece	General primary schools	40	Semi-structured interviews	+/−
Zaragas et al. (2020)	Greece	General primary schools	159	Co-Teacher Relationship Scale, Perceptions of Co-Teaching Survey	+

Note: + positive attitudes, − negative attitudes, > more positive attitudes.

presents studies focusing on the attitudes of parents of children without SENs towards inclusion.

The attitudes of parents of neurotypical children towards inclusive education were examined here through eight studies (Table 3). Three Greek studies (Kalyva et al., 2007; Tafa & Manolitsis, 2003; Zaragas et al., 2020) and one study from China (Lei et al., 2025) found that parents of preschool and primary school children without SENs hold positive attitudes towards inclusion and recognize more benefits than drawbacks for their child’s participation in inclusive programs. Similar positive attitudes were found in the study carried out by Peck et al. (2004), where parents, after their children enrollment in inclusive classrooms, still hold positive attitudes to inclusion, describing social benefits for their child, who learns to be tolerant and cooperative. In the fourth Greek study conducted by Vlachou et al. (2016), most of the participating parents did not feel informed about specific school policy practices relevant to inclusive education; they were not aware of the notion of ‘inclusion’ or approached inclusion from an integrationist point of view. In addition, they expressed their concerns regarding the possibility of having their child exposed to unsafe circumstances, especially when students with behavioral problems were involved. It could be suggested that the ‘fear of the unknown’ or certain prejudices could lead these parents to adopt this view. Furthermore, parents tend to believe that the presence of children with SENs in a regular classroom will delay the educational progress of the other pupils (Albuquerque et al., 2018; de Boer & Munde, 2014). Within this context, they hold positive-to-neutral attitudes towards inclusion on the basis that a child with SENs can cope with the school requirements. To sum up, more attention should be paid to informing and potentially involving parents about the policy practices endorsed by school communities and to raising parents’ awareness of children’s SENs.

1.4. Variables Related to Parents’ Attitudes

Several variables have been identified to relate to parental attitudes to inclusion. For example, personal factors, including family socio-economic status, parents’ education level, parents’ and children’s age and gender, environmental factors, such as experience with inclusive education, or direct/indirect contact with individuals with disabilities and their families, and the type/severity of disability have been found to be associated with parental attitudes to inclusion (Balboni & Pedrabissi, 2000; Diamond & LeFurgy, 1994; Hilbert, 2014; Kalyva et al., 2007; Kokaridas et al., 2008; Leyser & Kirk, 2004; Palmer et al., 1998; Rafferty et al., 2001; Tafa & Manolitsis, 2003; Vlachou et al., 2016). Among them, the severity of disability was identified as a key factor influencing parents’ attitudes. The study carried out by Rafferty et al. (2001) found that parents were more supportive of inclusion involving children with speech or with an orthopedic impairment than children with emotional problems, cognitive impairment or autism. In addition, the same study found that parents of children with mild disabilities were slightly more positive than parents of children without SENs, as also suggested by Leyser and Kirk (2004). Similarly, the participants in the study carried out by Diamond and LeFurgy (1994) maintained that children with severe disabilities would be rejected. In line with the above findings were the studies by Tafa and Manolitsis (2003) and Vlachou et al. (2016), which reported that parents of children without SENs were more concerned about the inclusion of children with behavior problems or severe cognitive disabilities than about including children with moderate or mild cognitive disabilities, physical disabilities, blindness or deafness.

Nevertheless, as Albuquerque et al. (2018) and de Boer and Munde (2014) point out, to promote positive attitudes among parents or other social groups (i.e., teachers, peers, siblings, etc.), it is important to focus on environmental factors, which may improve attitudes as a result of some kind of educational intervention. One such factor, which has been identified as influencing parental attitudes to inclusion, is the experience with inclusive education and the contact with learning disabled individuals. Tafa and Manolitsis (2003) found that the higher the frequency of the parent’s contact with individuals with special needs, the lower their concern on their child’s inclusion. Palmer et al. (1998) noted that the more years a child spent in special class, the more negative parents were about inclusive education. Additional data has shown that parents with experience in inclusive education, mainly due to their disabled child, and parents who have contact with disabled individuals hold more positive attitudes than those who do not (de Boer & Munde, 2014; Kalyva & Agaliotis, 2009).

1.5. Inclusion in Cyprus and Greece

Both in Cyprus and in Greece, legislation clearly involves the inclusion of all learners with SENs in mainstream schools. Specifically, in 1999, after a lot of lobbying by the Pancyprian Association of Parents of Children with Special Needs, the official inclusion of children with SENs began in Cyprus, when the Cyprus Parliament voted in 1999, the [113(1)99] on the Special Education Law, that stresses the responsibility of the State to provide the least restricted environment possible for children with SENs and their inclusion in general schools. This law also stipulates that the general school is the most appropriate educational environment for children with SENs, unless otherwise stated. As far as Greece is concerned, according to Law 3699/2008, education for pupils with disability and/or SENs is provided from 4 to 22 years, mainly in mainstream schools. The first choice of placement for pupils with disabilities and/or SENs, according to this law, is in mainstream classes with or without support (by the mainstream class teacher, the inclusion teacher or the special needs teacher with parallel support co-education).

The present study aimed to examine the attitudes of parents of primary school children without SENs towards inclusion in Cyprus and Greece, as well as possible links between parental attitudes, accommodation of different types of SENs, willingness to establish contact with children with SENs and their families, and knowledge of the characteristics of children with SENs. In addition, a specific sub-aim is to compare parents from Cyprus with parents from Greece in order to identify variations in attitude intensity and understand unique parental perceptions. This study will specifically investigate patterns in parental perceptions related to school inclusion in Cyprus and Greece, seeking to understand if similar or distinct trends emerge in how parents from each country view and approach inclusion. Given that (a) as it has been established in the studies discussed so far, parents’ beliefs are key personal and socio-political elements that deserve investigation, (b) international perspectives on parents’ attitudes on inclusion are very important for developing policies for good practice worldwide, and (c) lack of research related to these issues in Cyprus and in Greece, it can be argued that research specifically conducted in the Cyprus and Greece context constitutes an important contribution to the field.

Based on the so-far-reported evidence, we may hypothesize the following:

(1)

Parents in Cyprus and Greece would demonstrate positive self-reported attitudes towards key aspects of the inclusion of children with SENs in mainstream schools, naming core perspectives of school inclusion, expected outcomes of school inclusion and inclusion’s impact on classroom practice.

(2)

Parents in Cyprus and Greece will tend to believe that the needs of children with disabilities can be accommodated in an inclusive school environment.

(3)

Parents in Cyprus and Greece will tend to report willingness to establish personal contact with children with SENs and their families.

(4)

Parents in Cyprus and Greece will demonstrate knowledge of the strengths, the needs and the difficulties of children with SENs.

(5)

Parental attitudes towards inclusion of children with SENs in mainstream schools would relate to, and possibly predict, beliefs about accommodation of different disability types, willingness to establish contact with individuals with SENs and their families, and knowledge of the characteristics (strengths, needs, difficulties) of children with SENs.

2. Materials and Methods

2.1. Participants

The participants were parents of primary school children without SENs from Cyprus (n = 202) and Greece (n = 166). Parents from Cyprus came from all over the island (Nicosia, Paphos, Larnaka, and Limasol), whereas parents from Greece were recruited from the broader area of Attica. To ensure comprehensive representation, we engaged parents from across Cyprus. In Greece, we focused on parents from the Attica region, home to nearly half the Greek population, to effectively represent this significant demographic. Accessibility to participants was comparable in both Cyprus and Attica. In order for parents to be included in this study, they should not have any child with SENs. The participants from Cyprus and Greece were matched on all demographic characteristics and the extent to which they knew any person with SENs (see

Table 4. Demographic characteristics of the participants.

	Parents from Cyprus (n = 202)		Parents from Greece (n = 166)
	M	SD	M	SD	p
Age (years) of the younger child in the family	8.34	1.68	8.58	1.62	0.161(ns)
	f	%	f	%	p
Parent
Mother	161	79.7	119	72.1	0.089(ns)
Father	41	20.3	46	27.9
Parent’s age
≤35 years of age	111	55	114	68.7	0.064(ns)
36–45 years of age	74	36.6	22	13.3
≥46 years of age	17	8.4	30	18.1
Parent’s educational level
Secondary education or less graduates	117	59.7	86	51.8	0.241(ns)
Tertiary education graduates	85	42.1	80	48.2
Household annual income
Low	18	8.9	21	12.7	0.465(ns)
Medium	164	81.2	127	76.5
High	20	9.9	18	10.8
Marital status
Single parent	14	6.9	10	6.1	0.737(ns)
Married	188	93.1	155	93.9
Number of children in the family
1	45	22.3	44	26.5	0.585(ns)
2	146	72.3	115	69.3
3 or more	11	5.4	7	4.2
Parent occupation
Employed	171	84.7	127	76.5	0.448(ns)
Unemployed	31	15.3	39	23.5
Do you know any person with SENs?
Yes	82	40.6	59	35.5	0.321(ns)
No	120	59.4	107	64.5

Note: (ns) = non-significant difference.

).

2.2. Instruments

A 72-item questionnaire divided into the following five parts was used for the purpose of this study. These items come from the “My Thinking About Inclusion” (MTAI, Stoiber et al., 1998) and the questionnaire devised by Besevegis et al. (1997). Both instruments have been used in previous published work (i.e., Kalyva et al., 2007) and have been proven to be reliable.

• Part 1: Demographic information

The first part included demographic information and personal variables (i.e., gender, age, education level, family annual income, number of children in the family, occupation, marital status), as well as information about parental experience and contact with people with SENs (whether they knew a person with SENs, how close they were to this person and how often they met) (10 questions in total).

• Part 2: My Thinking about Inclusion

The second part included the 28-item belief scale “My Thinking About Inclusion” (MTAI) (Stoiber et al., 1998), which examined: (a) parents’ core perspectives of inclusion (12 items), based on the claim that children with SENs are entitled to education together with their neurotypical peers in inclusive classrooms (e.g., ‘Students with special needs have the right to be educated in the same classroom as neurotypical students.’), (b) the expected outcomes of inclusion (11 items) for children with disabilities learning and achievement (e.g., ‘Inclusion is socially advantageous for children with special needs.’), and (c) parental beliefs about classroom practices (5 items) and how inclusion can influence classroom dynamics and general teaching practices (e.g., ‘Children with exceptional needs monopolize teachers’ time’). The participants responded to the scales’ items using a 5-point Likert-type scale (1 = Strongly Agree to 5 = Strongly Disagree). The Cronbach alpha reliability coefficients for the three subscales in the present study were α = 0.72 for core perspectives, α = 0.77 for expected outcomes, and α = 0.60 for classroom practices.

• Part 3: Disability accommodation

In the third part, the parents were presented with a list of 11 disability profiles and asked to indicate the ease with which they believed each of these types of disabilities could be accommodated in an inclusive classroom setting (1 = No or Very Little Accommodation to 4 = Major Accommodation) (Stoiber et al., 1998, p. 114). These profiles referred to a variety of disabilities including physical and motor impairments, dyslexia, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), autism, visual or hearing impairments, emotional and behavioral difficulties, speech and language delay, mild-to-profound intellectual disabilities, and brain injuries/neurological disability. The Cronbach alpha reliability coefficient for the ‘Accommodation of disability’ scale in the present study was α = 0.88.

• Part 4: Willingness for personal contact

In the fourth part, the parents were asked to respond to a short scale devised by Besevegis et al. (1997), which assesses parental willingness for personal contact and engagement in specific activities with children with SENs or their parents. More specifically, the parents were asked to reply with ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to the following 7 questions: (1) “Would you say good morning to a mother of a child with SEN?”, (2) “Would you talk with a mother of a child with SEN?”, (3) “Would you contribute to efforts to raise money for a child with SEN?”, (4) “Would you share a seat bus with a mother of a child with SEN?”, (5) “Would you become friends with the parents of a child with SEN?”, (6) “Would you baby-sit a child with SEN for a few hours?” and (7) “Would you invite a child with SEN to spend the night at your house?”. For this particular scale, the reliability coefficient in the present study was α = 0.77.

• Part 5: Knowledge

In the fifth part of the questionnaire, 16 statements referred to their degree of knowledge/familiarity about the characteristics of the children with SENs (e.g., “they have hobbies”, “they help each other”, “they behave aggressively”, etc.) (Besevegis et al., 1997). To fill in this part, the participants had to indicate their degree of agreement for belief statements using a 4-point scale (1 = No, 2 = Rather no, 3 = Rather yes, 4 = Yes). A higher degree of agreement reflects more positive attitudes. The reliability coefficient for the above scale in this study was α = 0.72.

The questionnaire was back-translated into the Greek language and then was pilot-tested on a small sample of 6 parents (3 from Cyprus and 3 from Greece) who were asked to comment on its content. Final modifications, mainly in terms of meaning and wording, were made. The aim of the pilot phase of the questionnaire was to test the feasibility, clarity, and practical administration of the questionnaire.

2.3. Procedure

In Cyprus, the questionnaire was distributed to parents of children without SENs in primary education all over the island through the Pancyprian Federation of Parents with Children in Primary Education. Specifically, stratified sampling was applied; the population was divided into regions (strata) (e.g., 36% of the questionnaires were sent to parents living in Nicosia, since 36% of the school population of Cyprus primary education attends schools in Nicosia) and then the selection was random. Out of 300 parents, 202 parents filled in the questionnaire sent to them, resulting in a response rate of 68%.

In Greece, the parents were allocated via communication with public mainstream primary and secondary schools and formed a convenience sample. The head teachers of 4 schools (2 primary, 1 secondary and 1 high) of the broader area of Athens were explained the purpose of this study and agreed to distribute the questionnaire to the parents of all pupils. The questionnaires were sent to a total number of 298 parents of children without SENs. One hundred and sixty-six parents completed the entire questionnaire (55.7% response rate).

In the questionnaire’s introduction, we informed the parents about our study’s purpose and provided a description of ‘inclusion’. We also assured them that their participation was both anonymous and confidential.

2.4. Data Analysis

Data was analyzed using t-tests to examine differences between groups, correlational analyses using Pearson’s coefficient to examine associations among the examined variables and linear regression analyses to assess potential predictions among variables. For the statistical analyses of the data, SPSS 27.0 was used.

3. Results

Independent groups t-tests performed on the data indicated that parents from Cyprus and Greece had overall positive thinking about the inclusion of children with SENs in mainstream school settings (

Table 5. Means, standard deviations and mean differences in participants’ scores in core perspectives, expected outcomes, and classroom practices.

	Parents from Cyprus (n = 202)		Parents from Greece (n = 166)		Mean Differences
	M	SD	M	SD	t366	p
Core perspectives	3.29	0.52	3.08	0.54	5.13	0.001
Expected outcomes	3.36	0.51	3.16	0.58	3.66	0.001
Classroom practices	2.92	0.43	2.95	0.44	−0.47	0.639
Whole scale	3.22	0.36	3.06	0.39	3.98	0.001

Note: Rated on a 1–5 scale, where 1 = not at all and 5 = a lot. The highest score being more positive.

). Furthermore, parents from both groups demonstrated significantly more positive self-reported beliefs about the expected outcomes of inclusion than about inclusion core perspectives and classroom inclusion practices [F(2, 402) = 84.44, p < 0.001 for Cyprus, F(2, 330) = 10.88, p < 0.001 for Greece]. Nevertheless, parents from Cyprus reported more positive beliefs than parents from Greece did in core perspectives and expected outcomes of inclusion. Cohen’s d effect sizes were computed (d = 0.40, r = 0.19 for core perspectives, d = 0.37, r = 0.18 for expected outcomes), indicating small strength of these differences between the two groups of parents.

As regards beliefs about the degree of accommodation of different types and severity of SENs in inclusive school settings, parents from Cyprus indicated that children with physical/motor impairment, specific learning difficulties, and speech and language delays can be more easily accommodated in inclusive school settings, whereas parents from Greece reported specific learning difficulties, speech and language delays, and mild-to-moderate cognitive disabilities to be easily accommodated in inclusive classrooms. Additionally, parents from Cyprus believed that the greatest amount of classroom adaptation is required for children with hearing impairment, ADHD and brain injury/neurological disabilities, whereas parents from Greece felt that children on the autism spectrum, children with profound intellectual disabilities and brain injury/neurological disabilities need the highest level of classroom adaptation in inclusive settings. Significant differences in accommodation beliefs between the two groups of parents were found for the following disability profiles: physical/motor impairment (d = 0.73, r = 0.35, medium effect size), specific learning difficulties (d = 0.29, r = 0.14, small effect size), autism (d = 0.87, r = 0.40, medium effect size), visual impairment (d = 0.49, r = 0.24, medium effect size), profound intellectual disabilities (d = 0.82, r = 0.38, medium effect size), hearing impairment (d = 0.50, r = 0.24, medium effect size) and brain injury /neurological disabilities (d = 0.32, r = 0.16, small effect size). Parents from Cyprus demonstrated more positive accommodation beliefs than parents from Greece did for almost all the above disability profiles, apart from that referring to specific learning difficulties, for which parents from Greece had more positive self-reported beliefs compared to their counterparts from Cyprus (

Table 6. Degree of accommodation according to disability.

	Parents from Cyprus (n = 202)			Parents from Greece (n = 166)			Mean Differences
Disability	Rank	Μ	SD	Rank	Μ	SD	t366	p
Physical/Motor Impairment	1	2.95	0.95	6	2.20	1.08	6.99	0.001
Dyslexia	2	2.81	0.79	1	3.05	0.87	−2.72	0.007
Speech and Language Delay	3	2.69	0.87	2	2.68	0.87	0.11	0.916
Mild-to-Moderate Cognitive Disability	4	2.57	0.86	3	2.42	0.76	1.77	0.077
Autism	5	2.53	0.82	9	1.72	1.02	8.44	0.001
Visual Impairment	6	2.47	0.97	7	1.96	1.09	4.82	0.001
Profound Intellectual Disability	7	2.42	0.78	10	1.66	1.06	7.89	0.001
Emotional and Behavioral Difficulties	8	2.42	0.92	4	2.33	0.80	1.02	0.309
Hearing Impairment	9	2.35	0.96	8	1.85	1.04	4.82	0.001
ADHD	10	2.32	0.92	5	2.31	0.89	0.97	0.923
Brain Injury/Neurological Disabilities	11	1.87	1.12	11	1.53	1.04	3.03	0.003

Note: Degree of accommodation rated on 1–4 scale, where 1 = least and 4 = greater.

). Parents from Cyprus achieved the lowest accommodation beliefs score for the brain injury/neurological disabilities profile [F(10, 2010) = 30.98, p < 0.001], whereas parents from Greece achieved the lowest accommodation beliefs score for both the brain injury/neurological disabilities and the profound intellectual disability profiles [F(10, 1650) = 63.70, p < 0.001].

Significant differences in parental self-reported willingness for personal contact and engagement in specific activities with children with SENs or their parents were also found between the two groups of parents (

Table 7. Parents’ willingness to establish contact with children with disabilities and their families.

Willingness to	Parents from Cyprus (n = 202)		Parents from Greece (n = 166)		Mean Differences
	M	SD	M	SD	t366	p
say good morning to a mother of a child with SENs	3.95	0.49	3.99	0.11	−2.116	0.035
talk to a mother of a child with SENs	3.90	0.45	3.98	0.15	−2.092	0.037
contribute to efforts to raise money for a child with SENs	3.78	0.57	3.90	0.32	−2.395	0.017
share a bus seat with a mother of a child with SENs	3.85	0.49	3.95	0.24	−2.462	0.014
become friends with the parents of a child with SENs	3.38	0.79	3.36	0.68	0.284	0.776
baby-sit a child with SENs for a few hours	3.77	0.52	3.71	0.54	1.011	0.313
invite a child with SENs to spend a night at their house	2.91	0.98	2.87	0.87	0.418	0.676

Note: Rated on a 1 to 4 scale (1 = no, 2 = rather no, 3 = rather yes, 4 = yes). The highest score being more positive.

).

Parents from Greece appeared to report greater willingness to say ‘Good morning’ (d = 0.11, r = 0.06, small effect size), to talk to (d = 0.24, r = 0.12, small effect size) or to share a bus seat with a mother of a child with SENs (d = 0.26, r = 0.13, small effect size), or to contribute to efforts to raise money for a child with SENs (d = 0.26, r = 0.13, small effect size) as compared to their counterparts from Cyprus. No other significant differences were found between the two groups of parents. Interestingly, both groups of parents scored significantly lower in the items examining their willingness to be actively involved with children with SENs and their parents, such as to become friends with a disabled child’s parents or to invite a child with SENs to spend a night at their houses than in those items which examined less active involvement with families of children with SENs [F(6, 1206) = 110.14, p < 0.001 for Cyprus, F(6, 990) = 144.51, p < 0.001 for Greece].

Both groups of parents appeared to have good knowledge of the main characteristics of children with SENs (

Table 8. Parental perceptions of the characteristics of children with SENs.

Characteristics of the Children with SENs	Parents from Cyprus (n = 202)		Parents from Greece (n = 166)		Mean Differences
	M	SD	M	SD	t366	p
They have hobbies	3.45	0.81	3.43	0.69	0.32	0.75
They help others	3.16	0.86	3.13	0.74	0.34	0.74
They behave aggressively	1.97	0.83	2.21	0.78	−2.81	0.005
They are friendly	3.22	0.76	2.86	0.78	4.43	0.001
They are considerate	3.13	0.80	2.68	0.83	5.21	0.001
They are co-operative	2.98	0.74	2.73	0.67	3.29	0.001
They are calm	2.69	0.77	2.46	0.71	2.90	0.004
They talk to strangers	2.77	0.91	2.57	0.79	2.21	0.03
They are isolated	2.54	0.84	2.76	0.74	−2.68	0.008
They need medical treatment	2.78	0.90	2.53	0.96	2.65	0.008
They face their problems	2.50	0.82	1.95	0.70	6.79	0.001
They take care of themselves	2.43	0.82	2.35	0.79	0.98	0.33
They lose their temper easily	2.83	0.84	2.99	0.68	−1.97	0.04
They are impulsive	2.99	0.80	2.94	0.74	0.61	0.54
They have mood changings	3.12	0.72	3.02	0.71	1.22	0.22
They are easily distracted	3.18	0.70	3.18	0.67	0.06	0.95

Note: Rated on a 1 to 4 scale (1 = no, 2 = rather no, 3 = rather yes, 4 = yes).

). For example, they tend to acknowledge that children with SENs have several strengths, such as being friendly, considerate or cooperative, helping others, having hobbies, and not being aggressive, and, at the same time, have a number of difficulties, such as not being able to cope with their problems, being easily distracted, not always being able to take care of themselves and often being impulsive, etc. For both groups of parents, a ‘tendency to behave aggressively’ was the least frequent characteristic in children with SENs [F(15, 3015) = 46.61, p < 0.001 for Cyprus, F(15, 2475) = 44.93, p < 0.001 for Greece]. Significant differences between parents from Cyprus and parents from Greece emerged in parental knowledge about the following characteristics in children with SENs: tendency to behave aggressively (d = 0.30, r = 0.15, small effect size), being friendly (d = 0.47, r = 0.23, medium effect size), being considerate (d = 0.55, r = 0.27, medium effect size), being cooperative (d = 0.35, r = 0.17, small effect size), being able to remain calm (d = 0.31, r = 0.15, small effect size), tendency to talk to strangers (d = 0.23, r = 0.12, small effect size), tendency to remain isolated (d = 0.28, r = 0.14, small effect size), need for medical help (d = 0.27, r = 0.13, small effect size) and not being able to cope with everyday problems (d = 0.72, r = 0.34, medium effect size). Parents from Greece scored significantly higher than parents from Cyprus in the items referring to the tendency of children with disabilities to behave aggressively and to remain isolated. For the rest of the positive items, parents from Cyprus achieved significantly higher scores as compared to the group from Greece. No other significant difference between the two groups of parents was found.

Table 9. Correlations between inclusion beliefs, views of the accommodation of children’s SENs in inclusive school settings, willingness to establish contact with children with SENs and their families, and knowledge of the characteristics of children with SENs for parents from Cyprus (N = 202) and from Greece (N = 166).

	MTAI (Total Score)		Differences Between Correlation Coefficients
	Cyprus (N = 202)	Greece (N = 166)	Fisher’s Z	p
Degree of accommodation according to disability
Specific Learning Difficulties	0.181 *
Speech and Language Delay	0.180 *
Profound Intellectual Disability	0.188 **
ADHD	0.163 *
Willingness to
become friends with the parents of a child with SENs		0.277 **
baby-sit a child with SENs for a few hours		0.185 *
invite a child with SENs to spend a night at their house	0.198 **	0.192 *	0.06	0.95ns
Characteristics of the children with SENs:
They have hobbies	0.237 **	0.189 *	0.48	0.63ns
They help others	0.183 **
They behave aggressively		−0.220 **
They are friendly	0.190 **
They are considerate	0.163 *
They are co-operative	0.161 *	0.238 **	−0.76	0.44ns
They are calm	0.164 *	0.199 *	−0.34	0.73ns
They take care of themselves		0.231 **
They lose their temper easily		0.153 *
They are impulsive	−0.166 *
They have mood changings	−0.162 *

* p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01, ns = no significant difference in the magnitude of the correlations between the two groups of parents.

presents correlations between inclusion beliefs, views of the degree of accommodation of SENs in inclusive school settings, willingness to establish contact with children with SENs and their families, and knowledge of the characteristics of children with SENs for both groups of participating parents.

Parents’ inclusion beliefs correlated positively with views related to parental willingness to invite a child with SENs to spend a night at their house as well as beliefs that children with SENs have hobbies, can be cooperative, and remain calm in both groups of participants. However, the magnitude of the above correlations (Fisher’s Z analyses) was not stronger in any of the two groups. For parents from Greece, four additional positive correlations and one negative correlation were found. The positive ones were between inclusion beliefs and willingness to become friends with a parent of a child with SENs or to baby-sit a child with SENs for a little while, as well as beliefs that children with SENs can take care of themselves, but, at the same time, they tend to lose their temper easily. The negative correlation was between inclusion beliefs and views related to the aggressive behavior of children with SENs. For parents from Cyprus, seven positive and two negative correlations were additionally found. The positive ones were between inclusion beliefs and views related to effective accommodation of children with specific learning difficulties, speech and language delay, profound intellectual disability and ADHD in mainstream settings, beliefs that children with SENs can help others, and are friendly and considerate, while the negative were between inclusion beliefs and views that children with SENs tend to be impulsive and have mood changes. No other significant correlation was detected.

In order to further assess whether parents’ positive inclusion beliefs may be a good predictor of their views related to the extent to which children’s SENs can be effectively accommodated in mainstream school settings, their willingness to establish contact with children with SENs and their families and their beliefs of the strengths and difficulties of children with SENs, a series of linear regression analyses were run separately for the two groups of participants (

Table 10. Summary of linear regression analyses with inclusion beliefs the predictor variable and views of the accommodation of children’s SENs in inclusive schools, willingness to establish contact with children with SENs and their families, and beliefs about the characteristics of children with SENs the dependent variables for the two groups of parents separately.

Variable	B	β	Adjusted R2	t
Parents from Cyprus (n = 202)
Degree of accommodation according to disability
Specific Learning Difficulties	0.37	0.18	0.03	0.26 *
Speech and Language Delay	0.40	0.18	0.03	2.58 *
Profound Intellectual Disability	0.38	0.19	0.03	2.71 **
ADHD	0.38	0.16	0.02	2.33 *
Willingness to invite a child with SENs to spend a night at their house	0.49	0.20	0.04	2.86 **
Children with SENs
have hobbies	0.49	0.24	0.05	3.44 **
help others	0.40	0.18	0.03	2.64 **
are friendly	0.37	0.19	0.03	2.73 **
are considerate	0.33	0.16	0.02	2.34 *
are co-operative	0.30	0.16	0.02	2.31 *
are calm	0.32	0.16	0.02	2.35 *
are impulsive	−0.34	−0.l7	0.02	−2.38 *
have mood changings	−0.30	−0.16	0.02	−2.32 *
Parents from Greece (n = 166)
Willingness to become friends with the parents of a child with SENs	0.48	0.28	0.07	3.69 **
Willingness to babysit a child with SENs for a few hours	0.25	0.19	0.03	2.41 *
Willingness to invite a child with SENs to spend a night at their house	0.43	0.19	0.03	2.51 *
Children with SENs
have hobbies	0.34	0.19	0.03	2.47 *
behave aggressively	−0.44	−0.22	0.04	−2.89 **
are co-operative	0.41	0.24	0.05	3.15 **
are calm	0.36	0.20	0.03	2.61 *
take care of themselves	0.46	0.23	0.05	3.04 **

* p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01.

).

According to the results, for both groups of parents, positive parental beliefs regarding inclusive education can act as a moderately significant factor in predicting positive views among parents about the accommodation of children’s SENs at school, contact development, and the strengths and abilities of children with SENs.

4. Discussion

The present study examined the attitudes of parents of primary school children without SENs towards inclusion in Cyprus and Greece. Additionally, it looked at possible links between parental attitudes and several variables, including accommodation of different types of SENs in mainstream school settings, willingness to establish contact with children with SENs and their families, and knowledge of the characteristics of children with SENs in order for variations in attitude intensity and unique patterns of parental perceptions in Cyprus and Greece to be identified.

4.1. Attitudes to Inclusion

The results have shown that, overall, both Greek and Cypriot parents hold positive attitudes towards inclusion of children with SENs, with Cypriot parents slightly outperforming Greek parents in their thinking about inclusion of children with SENs in general school settings. This can be explained by cultural, educational and policy-related factors that shape the context differently in each country. First, in Cyprus, the education system has adopted policies to enhance inclusion earlier and, more systematically, as a result of which parents are more familiar with its benefits. Culturally, Cyprus is a smaller and more cohesive society, where families may feel the impact of inclusion more directly, which enhances their involvement and their positive attitude towards inclusion compared to the Greek reality. Parental positive attitudes to inclusion have been reported in previous studies in different countries (Barbosa et al., 2007; de Boer et al., 2010; Elkins et al., 2003; ElZein Lutfi, 2009; Kalyva et al., 2007; Kelly, 2001; Kokaridas et al., 2008; Leyser & Kirk, 2004, 2011; Loreman et al., 2009; Mudekunye & Ndamba, 2011; Palmer et al., 1998; Peck et al., 2004; Rafferty et al., 2001; Tafa & Manolitsis, 2003; Vlachou et al., 2016). Interestingly, parents in both countries held more negative attitudes about classroom practices than about the expected outcomes and the core perspectives of inclusion. Thus, even though parents expressed rather positive beliefs about more theoretical aspects of inclusion (core perspectives and outcomes), they expressed serious concerns about practical issues, like how inclusion impacts classroom life and actual instructional practices. Similar findings were also reported in earlier studies (ElZein Lutfi, 2009; Kokaridas et al., 2008; Leyser & Kirk, 2004, 2011). The participants of those studies supported the concept of inclusion from a legal and philosophical standpoint while expressing concerns about the children’s social acceptance and about teacher training, the quality of instruction and the availability of support services. Positive overall attitudes are a prerequisite for active parental engagement and advocacy for inclusive practices. Negative attitudes, conversely, can create barriers and resistance (Narot & Kiettikunwong, 2024).

4.2. Knowledge of the Characteristics of Children with SENs

While both groups of parents appeared to have good knowledge of the main characteristics of children with SENs, Cypriot parents achieved higher scores regarding their perceptions of the positive characteristics of children with SENs as compared to the Greek group. Parents from Greece were found to believe more strongly than parents from Cyprus that children with SENs tend to behave aggressively or to remain isolated. However, parents’ responses to general statements about children with SENs carry the risk of oversimplifying their complex individual differences. Loreman et al. (2009) and his colleagues suggest that it is likely that “children with mild disabilities are perceived to be less disruptive to the class as a whole (…), and it may also reflect a deeper bias that separate schooling is more appropriate for students with severe physical, emotional, and academic needs” (p. 24). As ElZein Lutfi (2009) highlights, parents of neurotypical children in regular schools might be afraid that the order and the climate in class would be disrupted by ‘difficult’ pupils and that the teacher would have to pay more attention to the students with SENs at the expense of their children. For that reason, some parents hold several reservations as to the effects of inclusion for some types of disabilities.

4.3. Accommodation of Children’s SENs in an Inclusive Context

This dimension often highlights parents’ understanding of the allocation of necessary resources (e.g., funding, personnel, training) to facilitate effective accommodations. Parents from Cyprus demonstrated more positive accommodation beliefs for most disability profiles than their Greek counterparts. It must be noted that the increase in the numbers of supported children in mainstream schools today has made parents more familiar with classroom accommodation than in the past. In many countries, the parent movement for inclusion had already succeeded in obtaining more accommodation and changes in everyday teaching and school life (de Boer et al., 2010). Greek parents tend to believe that children with specific learning difficulties can be most easily accommodated in general schools, while Cypriot parents believe that the easiest accommodation at school can work for children with mobility disabilities. Similarly, in previous studies, it was reported that parents believed that certain disability categories (mainly mild disabilities) that tend to fit in “academically” are more suited to inclusive settings (de Boer et al., 2010; Diamond & LeFurgy, 1994; ElZein Lutfi, 2009; Leyser & Kirk, 2004; Rafferty et al., 2001; Tafa & Manolitsis, 2003).

4.4. Interaction with Children with SENs and Their Families

This dimension refers to the social aspect of inclusion, specifically the openness and readiness of parents to engage in meaningful social interactions with children with disabilities and to build relationships with their parents. It is worth pointing out that Greek parents in this study were more positive toward statements that did not request much interaction and contact with the families of children with SENs (e.g., “talk with a mother of a child with SEN”) than Cypriot parents. However, parents in both countries were reluctant to have close relationships with the families of children with SENs (e.g., “invite a child with SEN to spend night at their house.”). This finding may reflect parental tendency to see interaction as a one-way street (e.g., “helping” children with disabilities) and not a reciprocal relationship where all parties benefit. These findings, also reported by Kalyva et al. (2007), might be indicative of a discrepancy between attitudes and actual behaviors, as “positive attitudes towards SEN, do not guarantee acceptance and understanding of SEN” (p. 303). It is also possible that parents, by now, know how to give socially accepted answers in inclusion topics but their attitudes only reflect a general sympathy towards inclusive education (de Boer et al., 2010). Because willingness to interact with individuals with SENs often indicates absence of fear, discomfort, or stereotypes associated with disability and can foster empathy, this dimension is crucial for creating a truly inclusive school community where all members feel welcome and connected (Lin et al., 2025).

4.5. Associations

A finding of this study worth discussing, which is not adequately reported in the literature, refers to the significant relationship between Greek and Cypriot parents’ inclusion beliefs, their willingness to be closer to families who have children with SENs, and their understanding that children with SENs also have strengths and abilities and not only difficulties. It appears that positive parental inclusion beliefs relate to and moderately predict parental reports about initiating, developing and maintaining social contact with the families of children with SENs and recognizing/attributing skills and abilities to children with SENs. For Cypriot parents, an additional moderate effect emerged between inclusion beliefs and the extent to which SENs can be effectively accommodated in inclusive educational settings. To conclude, positive parental beliefs regarding inclusive education can act as a moderately significant factor in predicting positive views among parents about the accommodation of the needs of children with disabilities at school, contact development, and the strengths and abilities of children with SENs. Tafa and Manolitsis (2003) have reported that positive attitudes towards inclusion are linked with positive experiences with disabilities and exposure to special education. Similarly, a positive relationship among attitudes towards inclusion, knowledge, and behaviors is pointed out in the literature since knowledge contributes to the realization of inclusion (Opoku, 2020). Nevertheless, the above finding needs to be further explored in relation to different parental characteristics including parental involvement in school matters, parental knowledge of SENs issues or parental typologies. It has been reported that parental involvement is crucial in the development of inclusive education. It is an opportunity for parents and their children to experience social benefits, such as accepting differences in people and developing sensitivity to others.

4.6. Limitations and Future Directions

The present study has several limitations. Even though this is the first comparative study that explicitly explored the attitudes towards inclusion of parents of children attending mainly primary schools in Greece and in Cyprus, in future studies, the attitudes of parents of children attending secondary schools and of parents of children with SENs could be explored. Attitudes are important and can range from highly positive (e.g., viewing inclusion as a fundamental right and beneficial for all children) to negative (e.g., believing inclusion can be disruptive). Future research, thus, can focus on the underlying factors that shape these attitudes. Are they rooted in principles of equity, social justice, or are they influenced by concerns about resources, perceived challenges, or lack of understanding? Another issue that can be addressed in future studies is whether parental perceptions of the accommodation of SENs reflect a proactive understanding of diverse needs or if it is a reactive response to challenges that arise. Moreover, it is worth exploring in more depth the breadth of accommodations supported—ranging from minor adjustments (e.g., seating arrangements) to significant modifications (e.g., specialized equipment, individualized instruction, behavioral support plans).

This study used only quantitative methods. However, triangulation, using both qualitative and quantitative methods, will ensure that the data generated is not the product of one method of collection, but the outcome of several different methods and may help to overcome the problem of ‘method boundness’ (Cohen et al., 2017). Furthermore, a qualitative research design could enlighten us regarding parents’ attitudes and behaviors towards inclusion and children with SENs. For example, we could inquire the reasons why they are reluctant to invite a child with SENs to spend the night at their home with their own child and clarify whether their attitudes and behaviors are due to their lack of acceptance or to other reasons, such as their insecurities to deal with a child with a particular SEN. Although the sample was representative for Cypriot parents, this was not the case for Greek parents since the participants were recruited from the same geographical area. Future studies may include a more representative sample to enhance generalizability. The design was not longitudinal; so, it was not possible to identify potential changes in parents’ attitudes towards inclusion over time. The schools’ and the teachers’ practices and beliefs were not considered, although they may affect the way parents view inclusion (Kalyva et al., 2007).

4.7. Implications

This study yields various critical implications for facilitating inclusion, particularly in the context of the success of parental movements in Greece and Cyprus in changing laws and regulations about inclusive education and quality education for all children in inclusive mainstream schools after 2000. These achievements acknowledge the powerful impact that active parental involvement can have on systemic educational change. Consequently, the sustained advancement of inclusive education involves robust parental contribution and effective communication. As the goal of inclusive education cannot be achieved without the parents of children with and without SENs supplementing the efforts of teachers (Opoku, 2020), our findings support the need for concrete strategies to cultivate this essential partnership by fostering positive parental attitudes, behaviors and knowledge about inclusive education. More positive attitudes and a greater knowledge of SENs enables parents to make more informed decisions about supporting inclusion, advocating for appropriate services, and challenging misconceptions (Leyser & Kirk, 2011; Pivik et al., 2002).