Impacting Pre-service Teachers’ Attitudes toward Inclusion

Abstract

Despite federal mandates to educate students with disabilities in the least restrictive environment, teachers continue to have mixed feelings about their own preparedness to educate students with disabilities in the general education setting. However, research has documented that teachers with more positive attitudes toward inclusion are more likely to adjust their instruction and curriculum to meet individual needs of students and have a more positive approach to inclusion. With inclusion becoming the norm in today's schools, teacher educators are now faced with the challenge of making significant changes to educational programs in preparing pre-service teachers to be ready to meet the needs of all students. These programmatic changes mirror the continuous melding transformations in progress now in traditional general education and special education programs. However, there is limited information about how these new teacher educator programs influence pre-service teachers' confidence or attitudes toward inclusive education as future teachers. To investigate this influence of teacher preparation programs on pre-service teachers' attitudes toward inclusion, a survey method was used to collect data from pre-service teachers in one teacher-preparation program. The responses from pre-service teachers were analyzed indicating that pre-service teachers from this particular teacher preparation program in which general education curricula were infused with special education curricula in special education survey courses had improved positive attitudes and confidence toward inclusion. The implications of this study for practice and future research are discussed.

Co-Teaching for Inclusive Classrooms

“…Since previous experience working with students with disabilities and working in inclusive classrooms have been shown to be salient predictors of better inclusive practices in the classroom, scholars suggest that more training in inclusive classroom practices be incorporated into teacher training programs (Taylor & Ringlaben, 2012;Gebhardt, et al, 2015). Taylor et al (2012) tested teacher candidates' perspectives before and after they had taken a survey course in special education.…”

Predictores de las actitudes hacia la inclusión de alumnado con necesidades educativas especiales en futuros profesionales de la educación

“…Particularmente, en relación con las actitudes se sabe que el profesorado que posee una predisposición más favorable hacia la inclusión de alumnado con necesidades educativas especiales (NEE), es aquel que también dispone de más estrategias educativas para que la inclusión tenga éxito (Ahmmed, Sharma y Deppeler, 2012; Avramidis y Norwich, 2002;Chiner, 2011;Swain, Nordness y Leader-Janssen, 2012). Asimismo, la relación entre la autoeficacia y las actitudes empieza a evidenciarse en la formación inicial del profesorado (Gao y Mager, 2011;Loreman, Sharma y Forlin, 2013) y se mantiene robusta luego en la etapa en ejercicio (Savolainen, Engelbrecht, Mirna y Malinen, 2012), lo que aún justifica en mayor medida la necesidad de promover las actitudes positivas hacia la inclusión en la formación (Selesho, 2012;Taylor y Ringlaben, 2012).…”

Kebutuhan Guru Sekolah Dasar Inklusi Dalam Meningkatkan Kompetensi Melalui Media Video

“…Guru dengan sikap positif akan lebih mampu untuk mengatur pembelajaran dan mengelola kurikulum yang digunakan untuk siswa berkebutuhan khusus. Guru yang bersikap positif memiliki pendekatan yang lebih baik terhadap pendidikan inklusif (Taylor, 2012).…”