Attitudes of preschool and primary school pre-service teachers towards inclusive education

Abstract

Teachers’ attitudes towards inclusion are important as they have the primary responsibility of implementing inclusive education. Attitudes at the beginning of teaching careers are likely to predict future attitudes. Some studies show a drop in attitudes after leaving university education. Using the Teachers’ Attitudes Towards Inclusion (Amended) questionnaire, 465 pre-service teachers (located in Victoria, Australia) from primary school and preschool streams were examined to determine the effect of a number of independent factors on Total Inclusion Score; a measure of attitudes towards inclusion. Two-way ANOVAs revealed module (unit) and year of study to be significant factors. A multiple regression showed the factors combined accounted for 10% of the variance in Total Inclusion Score. Participants who had studied a module (unit) on inclusive education or were in later years of study were more positive towards inclusive education based on Total Inclusion Score from the questionnaire. No significant differences for Total Inclusion Score were found between pre-service teachers that study primary school teaching or preschool teaching. It is concluded that studying a module on inclusive education is a particularly important factor in the development of pre-service teacher attitudes towards inclusion.

Keywords:

• education policy
• inclusion
• inclusive education
• preschool
• pre-service teachers
• primary school
• students with disabilities
• teacher training

Acknowledgements

The authors thank Shane Costello, Linda Varcoe, Jessica Grembecki, Christopher Barrell, and Jake Hoskin for assistance with the data collection.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Jake Kraska

Jake Kraska is a Melbourne-based Psychologist working predominately in schools. He has research interests in Inclusive Education and Psychological Assessment.

Christopher Boyle

Dr Chris Boyle is a Senior Lecturer in Educational Psychology at the University of New England, Australia. He has published widely in the subject areas of psychology and education.