Demographic differences in changing pre‐service teachers’ attitudes, sentiments and concerns about inclusive education

TLDR

Teacher preparation programs must evolve to equip future teachers for increasingly diverse, inclusive classrooms, prompting many institutions to introduce dedicated units on inclusion. This study investigates how demographic factors influence changes in pre‑service teachers’ attitudes, sentiments toward people with disabilities, and concerns about inclusion after completing a focused inclusion unit, and discusses tailoring courses to meet diverse needs. Using an international sample of 603 pre‑service teachers, the authors performed pre‑ and post‑training comparisons to assess the impact of demographic variables on inclusion perceptions. The analysis identified several variables that significantly affect how pre‑service teachers’ perceptions of inclusion change following the training.

Abstract

The preparation of teachers for regular schools has clearly needed to undergo quite significant change in recent years. One major adjustment has been the necessity to prepare teachers for progressively more diverse student populations as they will increasingly be required to teach in inclusive classrooms. Many teacher education institutions are, therefore, offering units of work that aim to tackle this. Utilizing an international data set of 603 pre‐service teachers, consideration is given to the effect of a range of demographic differences on changing pre‐service teacher attitudes toward inclusion; sentiments towards people with a disability and in reducing their concerns about inclusion when involved in a focused unit of work. Pre‐ and post‐training comparisons are made which identify a range of variables that impact on changing pre‐service teacher perceptions about inclusion. The discussion focuses on the importance of differentiating teacher preparation courses to address these different needs of pre‐service teachers.