Examining the Issue of Teachers’ Compassion in Teaching People with Disabilities (PWDs) in the Regular Classroom

In teaching people with disabilities and promoting the desire of the teachers to engage these people more meaningful and promoting their wellbeing in the regular classroom is thus a priority in the implementation of special education policy in the Nigerian education setting. The present study explored the issue of teachers’ compassion in teaching people with disabilities (PWDs) in the regular classroom. Four research questions and three hypotheses guided the study. The study adapted a predictive correlational research design. The sample size is made up of 780 secondary school teachers in Anambra State. Multi-stage procedure was used to select the sample size. Two standardized research instruments namely; teachers’ willingness to Teach Challenging Children Questionnaire (TWTCCQ) and Compassionate Action and Engagement Scale (CAES) were used for data collection. Cronbach’s alpha was used to determine the reliability of the items in the instruments. Reliability indices of 0.61, 0.68, 0.73, and 0.78, were obtained for self-compassion, compassion for others, compassion from others, and teaching people with disabilities respectively. The findings showed that the relationship among teachers’ self-compassion, compassion for others, and compassion from others was positively and significantly related. While the relationship among teachers’ self-compassion, compassion for others, compassion from others and willingness teach people with disabilities was negatively and significantly related. Also, result revealed that teachers’ self-compassion, compassion for others, and compassion from others contributed negatively to the predicting model. As the findings indicate that teachers’ compassion significantly predicted their willingness to teach PWDs in the regular classrooms, it was recommended that government should conduct seminers and other relevant training programs that will enable the teachers to endorse being compassionate as behaviour that can impact meaningfully in their teaching profession.