Social and Psychological Effects of Inclusive Classrooms: Insights from Teachers of Inclusive Classes in Selected Primary Schools in Zimbabwe

This study analysed the insights of four (4) criterion-sampled teachers of inclusive classrooms in four criterionsampled primary schools in Zimbabwe. The purpose of the study was, therefore, to elicit insights of the four afore-mentioned participants on how classroom inclusion affects learners with disabilities and those learners without disabilities socially and psychologically. The findings of this study indicate that: (a) classroom inclusion can generate positive as well as negative social and psychological effects on both groups of learners (b) the social and psychological effects of classroom inclusion on both sets of learners tend to depend, largely, on the social environment within and outside the classroom; (c) the placement of learners with disabilities in inclusive classrooms seems to enhance their social and psychological development; (d) the placement of learners with disabilities in inclusive classrooms does not seem to interfere with the social and psychological development of learners without disabilities and (e) responses to classroom inclusion by learners without disabilities seem to be shaped by multiple variables and change over a period of time. The significance of these findings find expression in the conclusion that general education is capable of providing effective individual instruction to both learners with disabilities and those without disabilities given a conducive learning environment. Policy makers and educators are likely to benefit from this confirmatory finding. Consequently, among others, this study recommends that prior to the establishment of an inclusive classroom, a concerted effort ought to be made to address the attitudes of all persons involved in the establishment and management of the any inclusive classroom. More specifically, the study recommends that administrators, educators, parents and learners need to transform their attitudes towards inclusion in general and classroom inclusion in particular. __________________________________________________________________________________________