An Attack on Inclusive Education in Secondary Education. Limitations in Initial Teacher Training in Spain

Abstract

Inclusive education is hard to implement in secondary schools. Probably, one of the determining factors lies in teachers' initial training that determines their attitude, identity and professional practice. This research analyses the initial teacher education programmes for Secondary Education, Higher Secondary Education, called bachillerato in Spain, and Vocational and Artistic training in the five best valued Spanish universities in the education field, according to the ranking I-UGR, after the European convergence process in the European Higher Education Area. The study analyses the national regulations that govern this training. A quantitative study was conducted to examine the number of credits dedicated to inclusive education and also a review of the contents of these subjects was carried out. The study concludes that this initial teacher training provides sufficient theoretical basis regarding the conceptualization of inclusive education and the skills to deal with the tutorship and academic and professional orientation. However, important limitations in training prevent future teachers from identifying students' and context's special educational needs, and the attention to diversity through different methods and curriculum adaptations.

A Descriptive Study on the Training and Attitude of Future Teachers towards Educational Inclusion

“…The results obtained for this item had a positive response of 55.5% (N = 136), as opposed to a negative response of 44.5% (N = 109). Our results coincide with those reported in several previous studies [5,[19][20][21][22], which seems to indicate that, at a general level, the concept of educational inclusion is effectively addressed in the different curriculum of the Early Childhood and Primary Education degrees taught at the Faculty of Education in Badajoz.…”

“…By dimensions (Tables 3 and 4), the results obtained in the first one "Conception of diversity" (Me = 3.5), we highlight the items with higher score values: "I would prefer to have students with specific educational support needs in my classroom"; "A child with specific educational support needs does not disrupt the classroom routine and does not impair the learning of his or her classmates"; " I don't worry that my workload will increase if I have students with specific needs for educational support in class". The results of this research reinforce the conclusions of those studies that state that future teachers generally show positive attitudes about educational inclusion [5,[19][20][21][22].…”

“…What attitudes do future teachers show to initial training on our object of study? Several authors [19][20][21][22] state that the results obtained on the initial training of future education professionals point towards the manifestation of favorable attitudes by the principles and values that inclusion defends. However, it is observed that these attitudes are altered when training variables and direct experience with students with special educational needs come into play.…”

Supporting Pupils in Finnish and Swedish Schools—Teachers’ Views

“…If all pupils are to be included, both types of support are required (Morningstar, Shogren, Lee, & Born, 2015;Nilholm & Alm, 2010). While teachers' theoretical knowledge regarding teaching and pedagogics in general can be quite good, they are often unable to identify special needs or make the necessary adaptations or modifications in practice (Fullerton, Rube, McBride, & Bert, 2011;López-Torrijo & Mengual-Andrés, 2015;Shin, Lee, & McKenna, 2016). In order to identify key practices that meet the needs of all students, McLeskey, Waldron, and Redd (2014) studied one highly effective, inclusive elementary school.…”

Future Pedagogues’ Attitudes and Knowledge about Inclusive Education in Spain: an exploratory study

“…IE considers students' diversity an enriching element and, thus, promotes it. Finally, IE supports the idea that everyone should be present and participate and interact at school (EADSNE, 2011;Booth & Aiscow, 2002;López, 2009;López-Torijo & Mengual-Andrés, 2014;López-Torrijo & Mengual-Andrés, 2015;Opertti & Brady, 2011;UNESCO, 2008).…”