Two approaches to the field experience and the effects on attitudes of preservice teachers towards inclusion

Abstract

Preservice teachers must be prepared to successfully include students with disabilities in their general education classrooms. This preparation calls for a restructuring of teacher education to develop coursework that examines not only the characteristics of the exceptional learner, but immerses students in experiences that create the positive attitudes integral to this goal. This study describes two approaches to the field experience component of a course in exceptionalities for elementary education majors, one involving young children and the other involving adults (aged 18–21) with moderate to severe mental and/or physical disabilities. In general, while the experiences did not differentially effect change in attitude as measured on self‐report surveys, both were successful in positively changing some of the attitudes of preservice teachers toward students with disabilities and toward inclusion.