PRESERVICE AND EARLY CAREER TEACHERS' ATTITUDES TOWARD INCLUSION, INSTRUCTIONAL ACCOMMODATIONS, AND FAIRNESS: THREE PROFILES

Abstract

This investigation examined the attitudes of beginning general education teachers (preservice and early career) with respect to teaching in inclusion classrooms. Sixty graduate students, taking a survey at the conclusion of a special education course, completed Q-sorts constructed to evaluate responses regarding attitude toward (a) inclusion, (b) instructional accommodations, and (c) fairness, along two dimensions: positive/negative and anxious/confident. A three-factor solution resulted in profiles of three groups of teachers: keen, but anxious, beginners (mostly preservice teachers with positive attitudes, but who worried about being effective inclusion teachers); positive doers (more experienced teachers whose struggles with the challenges of inclusion had not deterred their positive attitudes); and resisters (mostly experienced teachers whose concerns about fairness signified their resistance to inclusion). Teacher educators may find these profiles useful in preparing teachers to teach in inclusion classrooms.