The impact of a teacher education course on pre-service teachers' beliefs about inclusion: an international comparison

Umesh Sharma, Laura Sokal

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticleResearchpeer-review

    99 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    In this comparative study, the impact of two stand-alone university courses on pre-service teachers attitudes, concerns and teaching efficacy to teach in inclusive classrooms is examined. Twenty-eight preservice teachers (PSTs) from Australia and 60 PSTs from Canada completed a survey at pre- and poststages of the course. It was found that after completion of the course, Australian participants attitudes improved, their concerns declined, and they became more confident in their ability to teach in inclusive classrooms. Similarly, Canadian participants concerns declined and their teaching efficacy improved, but they became more apprehensive about teaching in inclusive classrooms. Relationships among the three variables (attitudes, concerns and teaching efficacy) were examined at pre- and post-test stages for both cohorts to understand how they interacted within each of the two countries. Implications of the findings for teacher education are discussed.
    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)276 - 284
    Number of pages9
    JournalJournal of Research in Special Educational Needs
    Volume15
    Issue number4
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2015

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