Are Today's General Education Teachers Prepared to Face Inclusion in the Classroom?

Abstract

Teachers have a key role to play in preparing pupils to take their place in society and in the world of work, and that is why the European Commission Communication Improving the Quality of Teacher Education calls for different policy measures on the level of member states in order to adapt the profession to meet the new challenges of the knowledge-based economy. Nowadays, the inclusion of individuals with disabilities in mainstream educational, occupational and societal frameworks has become an accepted concept worldwide. The schools across the nation are moving towards the inclusion of students with disabilities in the general classroom. The purpose of this study is to explore teachers level of preparation to deal with kids with special needs in the mainstream schools, the advantages and disadvantages of inclusion in schools and also if they fell the need to go through a training course in the field of special education in order to respond to the needs of the students with special educational needs. Another question included in this survey focuses on providing a list of training course teachers find necessary to go through in order to be able to face inclusion in the classroom.