Inclusive education in pre-schools: predictors of pre-service teacher attitudes in Australia

Abstract

Teachers' attitudes have been identified as being vital to the success of inclusive education (IE). With pre-school student populations becoming increasingly diverse, and many children experiencing this as their first involvement in formal education, the attitudes towards IE of pre-school teachers are more important than ever. This study investigated pre-service pre-school teachers in an attempt to identify the factors that contribute to the formation of positive attitudes towards IE in this population. Participants were 139 undergraduate and postgraduate early education students studying at a metropolitan university in Australia. Results indicated that participants generally held positive attitudes towards IE, despite having concerns regarding their ability to implement the construct. Attitudes did not significantly vary through years of study of the undergraduate degree; however, postgraduate participants reported significantly lower attitudes. While those who completed a tertiary-level unit on IE were significantly more likely to display positive attitudes, neither personal experience with persons with special needs nor practical classroom experience significantly influenced attitudes. Experience, however, was found to significantly increase perceptions of self-efficacy. Findings imply the presence of unique factors associated with the attitudes of pre-service pre-school teachers. Implications for the structure of pre-service pre-school education programmes and directions for future research are discussed.

Pre‐service teachers’ beliefs about inclusive education in the Netherlands: An exploratory study

“…In other words, when confronted with beliefs that directly encompassed the implications of accepting the full responsibility of implementing inclusive education in their own classroom, pre‐service teachers’ beliefs reflected concern with this issue. The current results showed inconsistencies with previous research conducted with different questionnaires, though all measured pre‐service teachers’ beliefs or attitudes towards inclusive education (Beacham and Rouse, ; Forlin et al ., ; Hoskin et al ., ; Kraska and Boyle, ; Oswald and Swart, ; Spandagou et al ., ; Varcoe and Boyle, ). One possible reason for this inconsistency may be due to the relatively recent development of inclusive education in the mainstream Dutch educational system.…”

“…Effect sizes of .20 or less, about .50, and .80 or more, represented small, moderate, and large differences, respectively (Cohen, 1992). *p < .05, **p < .01, ***p < .001 beliefs or attitudes towards inclusive education (Beacham and Rouse, 2012;Forlin et al, 2009;Hoskin et al, 2015;Kraska and Boyle, 2014;Oswald and Swart, 2011;Spandagou et al, 2008;Varcoe and Boyle, 2014). One possible reason for this inconsistency may be due to the relatively recent development of inclusive education in the mainstream Dutch educational system.…”

“…Studies focusing on pre-service teachers' beliefs generally report that student teachers are positive towards inclusive education (Beacham and Rouse, 2012;Forlin et al 2009;Hoskin et al, 2015;Kraska and Boyle, 2014;Oswald and Swart, 2011;Spandagou et al, 2008;Varcoe and Boyle, 2014). Additional findings on pre-service teachers have also highlighted that certain variables might shape these beliefs.…”

Actitudes de los maestros en formación sobre la diversidad e inclusión educativa

“…La transformación de los centros educativos en espacios inclusivos depende, entre otros factores, de la actitud del profesorado (Hoskin, Boyle y Anderson, 2015). Entendemos que ésta, como bien propone Macías (2016), predispone la conducta y puede ser educable.…”

Kaasava hariduse mudel alushariduse kontekstis: süstemaatiline kirjandusülevaade

“…Kirjanduses esineb definitsioone, kus autorid rõhutavad kaasava hariduse eri aspekte (Kivirand, Leijen, Lepp, & Malva, 2020). Näiteks defineeritakse seda kui lapse õigust osaleda hariduses koos tavapäraselt arenenud lastega (Hoskin, Boyle, & Anderson, 2015;Lawrence, Smith, & Banerjee 2016) või haridussüsteemi osa, kus õpikeskkond, õpetaja tegevus ja tugisüsteem tagavad iga lapse arengu (Kwon et al, 2017;Pelatti, Dynia, Logan, Justice, & Kaderavek, 2016;Warren et al, 2016). Definitsioonide ja arusaamade süstemati seerimine ja selle üle arutlemine toetab kaasava hariduse põhimõtete rakendamist (Florian, 2017).…”