Faculty Members’ and Administrators’ Attitudes on Integrating Students with Intellectual Disability into Postsecondary Education

Abstract

ABSTRACT Integrating students with intellectual disability in mainstream higher education is an important step toward inclusivity and true diversity in education. To create effective environments for these students, it is imperative to understand the attitudes of the administrators and faculty members who will be guiding them. A random sampling method was used to survey twenty-eight administrators and 172 faculty members at King Saud University. The questionnaire focused on the integration of students with intellectual disability into higher education. The questionnaire was based on a previously validated questionnaire, and the data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and the Mann-Whitney U Test. The results found that the faculty and administrators had positive attitudes toward integrating these students, but there were concerns about the influences on non-disabled students’ educational quality and university changes. The implications of the study and future research directions are discussed to help improve postsecondary education.