Successful implementation of inclusive practices depends mainly on teachers' attitudes towards children with special needs and their inclusion, and teachers' willingness to work with children with special needs in their classrooms. Experiences teacher candidates have during pre‐service stage might influence their perceptions towards children with disabilities and their inclusion. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of two special education courses on (1) preschool teacher candidates' general attitudes towards inclusion, (2) their willingness to work with children with significant intellectual, physical and behavioural disabilities within inclusive classroom settings and (3) their level of comfort in interacting with children with disabilities. A four‐part survey was administered to participants four times throughout the study, once before and after each course. The survey package included (1) a demographic information form, (2) the Opinions Relative to the Inclusion of Students with Disabilities Scale, (3) an adapted version of the Teachers' Willingness to Work with Children with Severe Disabilities Scale and (4) the Interaction with Children with a Disability Scale. The results showed that both special education courses positively influenced teacher candidates' attitudes, willingness and comfort levels. However, impact of the second course focused on helping teacher candidates learn and apply instructional strategies to work with children with disabilities in inclusive classrooms was much larger. Implications of the study findings in relation to future research and practice are discussed.

The purpose of the present study was to investigate knowledge of autism among teacher candidates who are likely to have the initial contact with children with autism within public school system in Turkey. Five hundred and four senior pre-service teachers who were enrolled in four different teacher education programs participated in the study. Data were collected using a survey package at the end of spring semester during the last year of college. Results indicated that pre-service teachers across programs had limited knowledge of autism and its characteristics. Findings of the present study call for the development of pre-and in-service training programs for teachers of children with autism. Further implications of findings for future research and practice are discussed.

Kinder, die durch eingebettete Anleitung neue Fertigkeiten erwerben, übertragen diese auf andere Personen, Umgebungen, Aktivitäten und Materialien; sie erhalten die Fertigkeiten über längere Zeit.RESUMEN: La literatura empírica reconoce la importancia y los beneficios de la educación integrada. En todo caso, se nota cierta precaución en la literatura, en cuanto a las oportunidades apropiadas para adquirir nuevas habilidades que los medios integrados le dan a niños con discapacidades. Un método usado en la educación especial para niños pequeños con discapacidades es la llamada instrucción incorporada. El objetivo de este estudio bibliográfico es evaluar la efectividad de la instrucción incorporada para niños pequeños con discapacidades. Los resultados revelan que la instrucción incorporada es una práctica efectiva en la pre escuela integrada, para enseñar una serie de habilidades a niños con problemas de desarrollo y discapacidades. Además niños que han aprendido nuevas habilidades por medio de la instrucción incorporada, generalisan esas habilidades a otras actividades, materiales y ambientes, manteniéndolas a través del tiempo.

Inclusion of young children with disabilities into general education classrooms is a common practice that has been implemented for many years in developed countries around the world and many developing countries have been creating and implementing laws and regulations to support inclusive education in early years. Although extant literature includes a commonly agreed definition for inclusion, the implementation of inclusive practices varies across countries. A critical factor for successful implementation of inclusive practices is teachers' attitudes towards inclusion of children with disabilities. The purpose of this study was to compare Turkish and American pre-service preschool teachers' attitudes towards inclusion of young children with disabilities and their willingness to work with children with severe behavioural, physical, and cognitive disabilities. A total of 123 pre-service teachers participated in the study. The results showed that pre-service teachers across two countries had similar attitudes towards inclusion and their attitudes were positive. Additionally, both groups of pre-service teachers reported more favourable attitudes towards working with children with severe physical disabilities than those who have severe cognitive and behavioural disabilities. Implications for future research and practices are discussed. ARTICLE HISTORY