We have noted since the Velvet revolution (1989) the increasing interest of Czech government representatives in a systematic removal of barriers that hinder or even completely restrict the individuals with disability to be fully integrated into our society. The system of quality care provision to disabled individuals in the Czech Republic has changed in the last two decades in terms of quality and values. It is in line with the humanity principles and trends that stem, based on national religious traditions, from the Christian values of charity, love and selfless help to those who need it. The former Eastern block countries (particularly the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria and Romania) follow other more developed European states in the tendency of inclusive education. The Czech education system, however, may still be recognised as segregational, separative, or selective. Educational needs of pupils with disability may remain saturated outside the mainstream education, i.e. at practical or special schools. The Czech Republic is facing a continuously increasing pressure of international and national institutions to reform its education system. Meanwhile, some formal legislative measures, strategies and options to implement inclusive education have been taken. Nowadays, the inclusion element into Czech education is developing gradually and is perceived more as a philosophical concept or trend, rather than a practical matter (Tannenbergerová, 2012).

The most significant barriers that prevent a successful advancement of inclusive education may be registered at a macrosocial level, i.e. national level (e.g. legislative framework for education, education policy conception and strategies); at a mezo-social level, i.e. of a particular school (e.g. organisational requirements, personal, material and financial provisions) and finally at a microsocial level, i.e. of a classroom (including psychosocial aspects and also the variables related to psychological and social factors that impact on relationships between the pupils without disability and those with disability).    

Often an overlooked problematic aspect in research which significantly influences the process of inclusion are diagnostics of pupils conceptions (preconceptions) of their peers with disability. Within the Czech research context, there has been no research study to explicitly investigate a child's conception of inclusive education phenomenon. Clearly, incorrect notions, prejudices, lack of information and negative attitudes (referred to as misconceptions) of pupils towards their peers with disability may hinder integration, or inclusion (Nowicki, Sandieson, 2002; Sherman, Sherman, 2013). Based on literature research and parallel to the current situation in the field of inclusive pedagogy, we present findings of a qualitative study as part of this paper in relation to children's conceptions of inclusive education. This takes into account an analysis of notions, knowledge and attitudes of primary school pupils towards their peers with disability.

Children’s (pupils’) conceptions may often differ from the adult interpretational framework (including teachers, parents, and specialists). That is why the children’s conceptions are so important for teaching and research. They are a set of specific knowledge and notions which are based on the empirical or interpretational models of an individual. Structure content of knowledge in forms of thought clusters and notions create an idiosyncratic unique knowledge matrix that is accentuated by an individual’s emotional component. Children's conceptions of inclusive education were analysed in this study as multidimensional entities, because they are formed by a cognitive component (the level of understanding inclusion; pupils' opinions on inclusion; their understanding of the concept) and by an affective component (pupils' attitudes towards inclusion; inclusion importance; attitudes towards disabled pupils). The research question is formulated as follows: What understanding, opinions and attitudes do primary school pupils have of the inclusion phenomenon and pupils with disability?

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