Does Study of an Inclusive Education Subject Influence Pre-Service teachers' Concerns and Self-Efficacy about Inclusion?

Abstract

Survey data were collected from pre-service teachers studying at a large regional Australian university. These data were examined with the purpose of determining whether pre-service teachers’ views (and concerns) about inclusion and their confidence to teach in inclusive classrooms had changed as a result of studying an inclusive education subject and undertaking a practicum linked to that subject. The results of an analysis based on mean values indicated that the various concerns, namely, resources, acceptance, workplace, and academic standards, did not change markedly as a consequence of the subject and practicum experiences. This analysis also showed a hierarchy of concerns running from resources through to standards. Moreover, the results of a MANCOVA, with self-efficacy serving as the covariate and using the concerns measures as the dependent variables and pre/posttest condition as the independent variable, revealed no significant difference between the various measures on the condition. The implications of the results for teacher education programs are considered.