Preservice Special and General Educators’ Knowledge of Inclusion

Source: Teacher Education and Special Education, 36(3), p. 204-216 (August 2013).

This article reports on a study aimed to identify aspects of university coursework and assigned field experiences that contribute to teachers' ability to define, identify, and implement inclusion.
The participants were 125 preservice elementary, secondary, and special education teachers who completed a self-report survey.

Results indicated a lack of consistency across teacher preparation programs within one college and a disconnectness between knowledge of inclusion as presented through university coursework and students’ real-world field experience observations of inclusion.
Preservice special educators’ perceived lack of confidence in their ability to implement inclusion in practice was also noted in the analysis of results.