Including Teacher Education Research Articles

Challenges in Preparing Teachers for Inclusive Education and Its Impact to Students with Learning Disabilities

This article addresses the inclusion mandate of students with disabilities through a case study. It begins with a review of debates concerning inclusive education and this current qualitative research aims to observe the extend of implementing inclusive education among students with mild learning disabilities in integration programs also known as the Special Education Integration Program for Students with Learning Disabilities. To address the issue, four Special Education teachers were selected as participants in this single site single case study. Data was collected through classroom observations, interviews and document analysis to investigate (1) the pedagogical aspects involve in implementing inclusive education among students with mild learning disabilities and (2) the adaptation made by the teacher in the curriculum prior implementing inclusive education. Result demonstrated that students were involved in both full and partial inclusion. Students with mild learning disabilities were not accompanied by special education teachers and they were fully taught by mainstream teachers who has never undergone any training on special education. The study recommends that students with learning disabilities who attend inclusive program should be accompanied by special education teachers or student management assistant/teacher assistant. It is also suggested that the mainstream teachers should be given appropriate training so that they too have knowledge to assist students to a better and meaningful life.

Glocalizing Inclusive Quality Education in Hong Kong: From Pedagogical Challenges to Research Opportunities

Since the launch of the Whole School Approach to Integrated Education in 1997, mainstream schools in Hong Kong have been admitting an increasing diversity of learners. They include, for example, children identified with different categorical learning needs, and more recently those who learn Chinese as a second language. Nonetheless, many teachers in this predominantly Chinese community remain sceptical to date about their pedagogical capacity for achieving greater inclusion. This paper discusses the contextual challenges of glocalising inclusive quality education in Hong Kong. In response to the teachers’ concern about their professional readiness to support the learning of all children, it proposes a research framework for understanding their inclusive pedagogy – as a bottom-up approach to inform the development of more cultural-specific inclusive teacher education therein.

PURSUIT OF INCLUSIVE EDUCATION: INCLUSION OF TEACHERS IN INCLUSIVE EDUCATION

By focusing on teachers’ approach, the article analyses one of the most relevant issues of today’s realities of education – the inclusive education. The following is an important task for politicians for education, school leaders, teachers and greatly affects and influences the life of families with children with disabilities. Object of the research: inclusion of teachers in inclusive education. Aim of the research: to examine aspects of teachers’ inclusion in inclusive education by implementing the statistical analysis according to The Teachers’ Attitudes Toward Inclusion Scale (TATIS) survey (Gregory, Noto, Cullen, 2010). This study adopted a descriptive survey research design, with 105 teachers as participants from selected secondary schools in Klaipėda city and Klaipėda district, Lithuania. Research results: A study has been conducted demonstrating that the attitudes of educators participating in the study to inclusive education of pupils with a disability are basically positive. The analysis of the research data received allow the teachers are not sufficiently prepared to provide assistance to their students with orientation towards the inclusive training tasks. Teachers who participated in the study agree that all school classes should be rebuilt to meet the needs of students with disabilities and that students with disabilities should be taught in a general education school in an equal educational environment with peers without disabilities. The differences between teachers' attitudes to the inclusive education model and the type of pedagogical school were statistically significant. More than just a gymnasium teacher, either a progymnist or a primary school teacher, fully agrees that the model of inclusive education ensures a more effective transition of pupils with disabilities from special education to general education schools.

Networked mentoring

The primary responsibility of tertiary institutions is to prepare students in such a way that they enact authentic, effective and evolving practices throughout their careers. To achieve this, teaching and learning, including teacher education, have changed in recent years. 21st Century pedagogies are increasingly premised on principles of personalised learning that occur with others and in context; evolving understandings of inclusion and diversity; and a culture of self-directed, inquiry-based and lifelong learning (Bolstad et al., 2012). What counts as knowledge has shifted to encompass the collective views, intuitions and beliefs of participants (Dede, 2008, in Li, 2012). In keeping with these changes, there is never ‘one right answer’, and an increased need to co-author understandings with others.Models of supervision have not kept pace with networked approaches to learning, and traditional models persist. Professional supervision continues to be framed as a dyadic interaction, usually conducted face-to-face by one expert and one novice. The present study acknowledges the place of traditional supervision, but argues that networked learning begets a framework for networked mentoring. Networked mentoring supports professionals in considering the learning and support they both give and receive at each layer of their ecology. Learning is thus seen as “the product of educational self-organisation. If you allow the educational process to self-organise, then learning emerges. It's not about making learning happen; it's about letting it happen." (Mitra, 2013, 16:32). In contrast with traditional approaches to mentoring, networked mentoring positions each teacher at the center of their ecology, intentionally and spontaneously recognising opportunities for learning with, from and about others. Teachers are empowered as the people best placed to solve their own problems and identify their own solutions in bespoke and networked ways. The role of the mentor shifts to supporting others to identify, cultivate and sustain their existing and potential networks: their sources of learning on- and off- line, in and out of their formal learning environments. The focus of this paper is research conducted on networked mentoring within one postgraduate programme in which teachers are encouraged and supported to take charge of their learning and then their networks of support. Key principles and pedagogies within the programme are outlined, to set the stage for the study of networked mentoring.

Teachers’ knowledge, attitude and practices of inclusive education in Nekemte town and its surrounding government primary schools

This study was conducted to investigate teachers’ knowledge, attitude, and practices of inclusive education in Nekemte town and its surrounding government primary schools; and how their knowledge and attitude towards inclusion affect the practice of inclusive education. The participants of the study were primary school teachers and principals. Equal numbers of teachers were included into the study both from Nekemte town (62 teachers) and its surrounding government primary schools (62 teachers). One principal from each school, totally six principals were participated. Data was collected using a Likert type scale questionnaire. Descriptive statistics, hierarchical multiple regression, and series of one way MANOVA were used in the analysis. The result indicated that Primary school teachers had slightly moderate knowledge about inclusive education and predominantly neutral attitude towards inclusive education. The result also indicated that primary school teachers in the study area rarely practice inclusive education. Knowledge of the teachers significantly contributed to the practice of inclusive education, while attitude of teachers did not. No statistically significant differences were found between teachers due to their sex, training, teaching experience in their knowledge, attitude, and practices of inclusive education, while statistically significant difference was observed between urban and rural primary school teachers in their practices of inclusive education. Raising awareness of teachers about inclusive education, the need to equip teachers with theoretical knowledge and practical skill of inclusive education, and making school environment accessible are some of the recommendations suggested. Keywords : Inclusive education Teachers’ attitude Primary Schools Knowledge Practice

Kształcenie nauczycieli dla edukacji włączającej

Inclusive education as idea of education appeared in the 1990s. The main aim of inclusive education is full participation, opposition to exclusion of anyone from the possibility of education together with their peers, in their place of residence. It draws attention to the necessity to change the educational policy. In the inclusive education most important are needs (special needs) and oportunities of students, and support. One of the important conditions for the implementation of the idea is proper preparation of teachers for inclusive education. Analyzes of international experience indicate that there are similar problems in most countries. It is worth to recognize them, to take systemic action as soon as possible leading to the change of unfavorable indicators in Poland.

Internationalisation in teacher education: student teachers’ reflections on experiences from a field study in South Africa

ABSTRACTInternationalisation of higher education and teacher education has been a key issue since the 1990s and many universities still attempt to increase student mobility ever since. Much research has been done on the topic of internationalisation and higher education, including teacher education trying to show how a certain programme impacts on students’ learning, especially intercultural learning when it comes to programmes in teacher education. These studies are often directed towards programmes that last several months or a whole year. The focus of this study is rather to explore if and in what way experiences in a two-week field study can contribute to a student teacher’s intercultural learning and professional development. The findings of the research show that even a short field study has an important impact on the individual student teacher’s understanding of themselves and on awareness of teachers’ living and working conditions in a different culture like South Africa.

РАЗВИТИЕ ПСИХОЛОГИЧЕСКОЙ ГОТОВНОСТИ УЧИТЕЛЕЙ ФИЗИЧЕСКОЙ КУЛЬТУРЫ К ОСУЩЕСТВЛЕНИЮ ИНКЛЮЗИВНОГО ОБРАЗОВАНИЯ

Aim. Successful education of children with disabilities depends on teachers’ professionalism. Physical Education teachers demonstrate a lack of psychological readiness to implement inclusive education. Therefore, the aim of this article is the projecting and approbation of the development system of psychological readiness in P.E. teachers for inclusive education including its cognitive, emotional, axiological and reflexive components. Materials and Methods. The study was performed on the basis of the theory of attitudes (L. Lange, R. Cialdini, D.N. Uznadze, S.L. Rubinstein). The diagnostic tools for revealing the level of cognitive, emotional, axiological and reflexive components of the psychological readiness in PE teachers for inclusive education were developed. The study was conducted in 2016–2017. 673 PE teachers of the Chelyabinsk region took part in the study at different stages. The psychological readiness of the majority of respondents (39.6 %) was below the average. The training experience of P. E. teachers in France, presented by the scientific partners of the Higher School of Teaching and Education of University within Picardie Jules Verne under the Academy of Amiens was studied. Results. The development system of psychological readiness in teachers for inclusive education was developed, based on the experience of positive pedagogical practices of P.E. teachers in Russia and France. This system assumes the training of teachers in gradually more complicated stages: a) solving situational problems that represent the problematic aspects of the activity of P.E. teachers working with children with disabilities; b) conducting reflexive sessions, in which teachers become acquainted with the psychology of a special child and identify themselves with him; с) formation of stress resistance in teachers, prevention of their professional burnout. Conclusion. The experimental stage of the study showed that the adoption of such a system contributed to a positive change in the indicators of psychological readiness of teachers for the implementation of inclusive education. The system is recommended for use in wide practice.

OPINION OF STUDENTS-FUTURE INCLUSIVE TEACHERS ABOUT PREFERABLE CONCEPTIONS OF INCLUSIVE EDUCATION DEVELOPMENT: EVIDENCE FROM RESEARCH IN ST. PETERSBURG

In this paper, we present the results of St. Petersburg students-future inclusive teachers’ questionnaire about preferable conceptions of inclusive education development in Russia. Data comes from two research in 2012 and 2015. Totally 359 student-future teachers in 2012 and 331 in 2015 were asked. The results show that students-future teachers’ opinion changed through two periods. In 2012 they preferred Western conception of inclusive education, while in 2015 Soviet Union experience was recognized as more successful. The parents' opinion has become crucial and students - future teachers of inclusive education think that parents should be key actors in the decision-making process about education of their children with disabilities. The obtained results can help to prepare recommendations to the continuation of inclusive education reform in Russia and may be useful for the inclusive education reform in non-Western countries.

A STUDY ON ROLE OF TEACHERS IN INCLUSIVE EDUCATION

Teacher has an important role in inclusive education. Educating a person is the biggest service by a human being so a teacher is the builder of a good society and nation. On the basis of that the successes and heights of a nation can be measured. It is the responsibility of the teachers to deliver the action plan prepared by the government for the disabled and disabled children through inclusive education. Inclusive education is considered the main pillar in the field of teacher education. In order to make the inclusive education program successful, qualified and skilled teachers are needed. In addition to education, they can develop the abilities of unqualified and disabled students and make them aware of their responsibility. Coordination and proper coordination for the teacher in inclusive education is the first priority of the teacher to have coordination between the daily school students and special children. In the inclusive classroom, teachers have to address the rights, roles and responsibilities towards the students. Inclusive education does not just create classroom teaching that only covers the curriculum, it also helps in developing behavioural, emotional and social skills of the special children. Because those children can also sit easily with other children and build a civilized society in a good environment. In an inclusive classroom, teachers work closely with children with special disabilities or students from diverse cultures and ethnicities to encourage their genuine and valuable participation. The concept of inclusive education embraces human diversity at the grassroots level of the education system of a country. Inclusive education provides safe pathways for learning for students with disabilities. Inclusive education is a system of providing quality, holistic and inclusive education to special children and general children together. This article basically focused on role of teachers in inclusive education

Process quality in Portuguese preschool classrooms serving children at-risk of poverty and social exclusion and children with disabilities

This study investigates process quality and structural features of classrooms serving children at-risk of poverty and social exclusion and children with disabilities in Portugal. We examine (a) whether the three-domain structure of a widely used standard observational tool, the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS; Pianta, LaParo, & Hamre, 2008) describes adequately teacher–child interactions in those classrooms and (b) associations between CLASS domains and structural features, including teacher education and group size. The study was conducted in 178 preschool classrooms. Data included classroom observations using the CLASS Pre-K and teacher reports on structural features. Confirmatory factor analysis supported the three domains of teacher–child interactions. In addition, the CLASS domains described teacher–child interactions equally well across classrooms serving children with disabilities and children at-risk of poverty and social exclusion. Finally, we found modest associations between structural features and CLASS organizational and instructional support, suggesting a complex interplay among structural features in predicting levels of teacher–child interactions.

Readiness of teachers for inclusive education of children with disabilities

The research problem is a contradiction between the importance and necessity of implementing the ideas of inclusive education on the territory of the Russian Federation and the creation of favorable conditions for the development and education of children with special educational needs, as well as the insufficient level of readiness of the teachers themselves (one of the main subjects of education) to work in this system. The authors of the article propose a new organizational and personal approach to studying the teachers’ readiness for inclusive education of children with disabilities. The authors’ structure of the teacher’s readiness for the development and implementation of inclusive education in children with disabilities is presented. The practical value of this article is the developed diagnostic methods: “Psychological readiness for inclusive education” and “Assessing the formation of an inclusive culture in educational organizations” and a description of the content components of teachers’ readiness for inclusive education.

Inclusive education in initial teacher education in South Africa: practical or professional knowledge?

Inclusive education is embedded in South African policy with the expectation that teacher education will equip pre-service teachers to teach inclusively. As a result, courses in inclusive education are offered in most Initial Teacher Education (ITE) programmes and research interest in teacher education for inclusion has grown. This paper contributes to this body of knowledge by using Legitimation Code Theory to engage critically with concepts and assessment tasks from three inclusive education courses. This meant identifying where theoretical, context independent knowledge is privileged (semantic density), and where the knowledge is derived from practice or experience and designed to be implemented within specific contexts (semantic gravity). Using examples as reference points, I discuss how inclusive education comes to emphasise practical knowledge, to be enacted in particular contexts, or with particular groups of learners. An alternative is to position inclusive education as professional knowledge where theoretically informed judgments are made in response to the complexity of learner diversity. This will require strengthening the disciplinary foundation of concepts presented in ITE courses in inclusive education.

Algunas lecciones aprendidas sobre las variables que afectan al desarrollo profesional de los docentes para la Educación Inclusiva

The article presents some reflections on the variables to be taken into account in the continuing professional development (CPD) of teachers for inclusive education, based on the research project funded by the University of Alcala 124/2014 entitled Cooperative learning: an inclusive approach. The case study was carried out during the 2014-2015 school year in a Spanish Public School for Early Childhood and Primary Education, the results shed light on the characteristics that an inclusive teacher should have, based on the perception that the students themselves have and a process of accompaniment in the methodological change, towards more inclusive methodologies in an ordinary classroom context. Through participant observation, in-depth interviews and questionnaires to students, we find some key factors that influence the success of this process and that can help to understand the variables to take into account in the professional development of teachers from an inclusive perspective.

Ensuring Social Inclusion and Quality in Learning of Children with Special Needs through Inclusive Teacher Education

Education acts as an instrument of Socialization, helping the individual to internalize the structures and processes of society and learn those skills and attitudes, which will enable him to take a meaningful place in society and contribute to its well being. Also, it helps in developing the capacity for critical thinking hence becomes a catalyst for social change. What happens in a situation, if the education does not reach all? You would agree that there is a global concern on ‘Education for All’ without compromising the quality. With this comes a challenging task to respond to wide array of students with different needs .At the school level, inclusive education seeks to address the learning needs of all with a specific focus on those who are marginalized due to some disability. The regular schools with inclusive orientation are the most effective means of combating discrimination, creating welcoming communities, building an inclusive society and achieving education for all (UNESCO, 1994). This has further restated in World Education Forum that school should accommodate all children regardless of their physical, intellectual, social, emotional, linguistic and other conditions, (Dakar, 2000). Also, the Indian National Policy on Education (1986) and National Curriculum Framework for school education (2000) emphasized the need for integration of all children with special needs in the regular schools.

Agency in the darkness: ‘fear of the unknown’, learning disability and teacher education for inclusion

ABSTRACTThis paper proposes inclusion phobia as a sharper and more operative definition of the ‘fear of the unknown’ often cited as an explanation for resistance to inclusive education. Using ‘severe and profound learning disability’ as the paradigm case, we situate the phobia surrounding this label in its social and historical context. Our hypothesis is that resistance to inclusion for this group is not rational but amounts to a thought disorder in a psychiatric sense. Using qualitative case studies of pre-service teachers on practicum and headteachers engaged in decisions about admissions, we demonstrate the workings and impact of inclusion phobia. We illustrate its trajectory from a general social dysfunction, to the systems that channel it to the individuals caught up in it. Our aim is to expose inclusion phobia so that, teacher educators, teachers and pre-service teachers might, in knowing it, find new ways to remedy it. In doing so, long standing resistance to inclusive education is made more tractable. We conclude with our own proposals for an anti-phobic curriculum for teacher education.

DEVELOPING PSYCHOPEDAGOGICAL AND METHODICAL COMPETENCES IN SPECIAL / INCLUSIVE EDUCATION TEACHERS

In a general sense, competence represents a higher finality which ensures the transfer of acquired theoretical knowledge to effective teaching practices. In the teaching profession, there are three types of competences: professional (they show the teacher's theoretical knowledge), psycho-pedagogical (they concern the teacher's ability to know their students and to establish interhuman relationships with them) and methodical (concerns the teacher's ability to teach effectively the elements of the didactic content). Due to the particularities of special / inclusive education, teachers involved in this form of education should possess mainly psycho-pedagogical and methodical competences so that they can meet successfully the educational needs of students with disabilities. The aim of the research was to identify the psycho-pedagogical and methodical competences of special / inclusive education teachers, as well as ways to improve them using continued professional training activities. The sample consisted of 225 teachers, who work in various forms of special education in Bihor County, Romania. The instrument consisted of a questionnaire with 21 items. The research was conducted in April 2017. The results of the research showed that special education teachers are more empathetic and use a more diversified range of didactic strategies, while inclusive education teachers are concerned with continued professional training in the field of special education. Keywords: didactic competences, people with disabilities, special / inclusive education

Karma and human rights: Bhutanese teachers’ perspectives on inclusion and disability

ABSTRACTThe Sustainable Development Goals call on countries to ensure that all children, especially the most vulnerable, are included in education. The small kingdom of Bhutan has made attempts to embrace inclusion in education at the policy level. However, research on inclusion and disability in this context is limited, and there are few studies focusing on the perspectives of Bhutanese teachers. The study presented here was led by the question ‘how are Inclusion and Disability understood by teachers in Bhutan?’ The research aims were to (a) explore the above concepts from the perspective of participants and (b) construct these concepts in a way that is contextually relevant to Bhutan. Data collection comprised qualitative interviews with 15 Bhutanese teachers. Findings revealed that participants saw disability predominantly from a ‘medical model’ perspective, but at the same time held conflicting views as to what inclusion means. They moreover mentioned lack of teacher training as an obstacle to the implementation of inclusion in Bhutan, and some believed that the country is not yet ready for inclusion. We argue that our findings call for Bhutan to strengthen the preparation of its teachers for inclusive education in order to narrow the current gap between policy and practice.

Профессионально-педагогическая готовность будущих учителей к инклюзивному обучению детей с ограниченными возможностями здоровья

Профессионально-педагогическая готовность будущих учителей к инклюзивному обучению детей с ограниченными возможностями здоровья

Practices That Support the Inclusion of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder in Mainstream Early Childhood Education in Zimbabwe

The international and national mandate to serve learners with special needs in regular education warrants examination of support practices for including learners with autism in Zimbabwe. Entrenched within the inclusive pedagogical philosophy, the current qualitative study executed individual interviews with 18 teachers, document analysis, and nonparticipant observations in the Midlands educational province of Zimbabwe to explore support practices for including learners with autism in regular Early Childhood Development (ECD) classes. The study revealed that support practices for including learners with autism in regular ECD classes included entry competencies informed pedagogy, reinforcement, academic adaptations, socialization, consultation, and strategic management of structured routines and compulsions. The institutionalization of comprehensive teacher education for inclusion and collaborative culture could optimize support practices for including learners with autism in regular ECD classes.