Abstract
As education systems worldwide embrace inclusive education in some form, pre-service teachers need to be prepared to be pedagogically responsive to diverse students and learning needs. While much learning for inclusion takes place in course work in higher education institutions, field experiences, including practicum placements, can complement this learning. Using Loreman's [2010a. “Essential Inclusive Education-Related Outcomes for Alberta Preservice Teachers.” The Alberta Journal of Educational Research 56 (2): 124–142] seven areas of essential learning for inclusion, with the addition of Waitoller and Kozleski's [2010. “Inclusive Professional Learning Schools.” In Teacher Education for Inclusion, edited by C. Forlin, 65–73. London: Routledge] idea of ‘critical sensibilities’, this article considers the extent to which a practicum experience in a special school might contribute to learning for inclusion. The main findings of a small-scale qualitative study with 15 South African pre-service teachers suggest that the practicum placement exposes them to children with disabilities and learning difficulties, resulting in a growth of understanding of their learning needs. It also enhances pre-service teachers' ability to plan lessons and draw on a range of instructional strategies to enable learning for all. For some pre-service teachers, however, the practicum convinced them of the benefits of separate special education and the unfeasibility of inclusion. We conclude that a special school practicum has value for pre-service teachers, provided that opportunities are made available for critical engagement with the potential for both inclusion and exclusion of students with special educational needs in different types of school.
Highlights
Pre-service teacher education for inclusive education Corresponding with the increasing diversity of students and learning needs in classrooms worldwide, is a concern about the extent to which teachers are equipped to secure learning for all
Practicum placements in special schools cannot be said to promote an understanding of all the many diversities that characterise the South African student population, but they do seem to promote an understanding of learning difficulties, including those related to disabilities
Summary of findings and conclusion Our study suggests that the three areas of most promise for pre-service teacher education for inclusive education offered by the special school practicum are:
Summary
Pre-service teacher education for inclusive education Corresponding with the increasing diversity of students and learning needs in classrooms worldwide, is a concern about the extent to which teachers are equipped to secure learning for all. Content Loreman (2010a, 129) has reviewed the literature on pre-service teacher education for inclusion and presents a synthesis of what he regards as the “essential skills, knowledge and attributes for inclusive teachers identified in the literature”. In this review, he identifies seven areas, which he phrases as “outcomes” for pre-service teachers.
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