This study explored pre-service teachers’ attitudes toward inclusive education. The Sentiments, Attitudes, and Concerns about Inclusive Education–Revised (SACIE-R) scale was completed by 138 teacher candidates in a teacher preparation program in Bahrain Teachers College. The findings revealed that candidate teachers needed more opportunities to interact with and teach children with disabilities during their school practicum; they also needed more preparation and knowledge about the educational policies related to these children. Not all the candidate teachers felt confident in their knowledge and skills when dealing with these children. The sentiments of the candidate teachers were generally positive and compassionate to children with disabilities. The attitudes of the candidate teachers were generally positive as well, but there were some apprehensions in regard to including children who show aggressive behavior toward others or those who require communicative technologies in regular classes. The participants had many concerns related to certain aspects of including students with disabilities in the regular classrooms. The findings indicated that there is no significant difference among the study sample in terms of their attitudes, concerns, or sentiments toward inclusion according to the academic year variable (orientation, Year 1, Year 2, Year 3, and Year 4) and the specialization variable (no specialization, Cycle 1). There was also a significant negative relationship between level of confidence in teaching students with disabilities and the sentiment aspect, and also with the concerns. There was a significant negative relationship between knowledge of the local policy that relates to children with disabilities and the sentiment aspect.
Reflexivity involves the researcher's attentiveness to cultural aspects of the research context. In this article, I deconstruct scenarios from a reflexive diary and interpret how these scenarios respond to an insider–outsider positionality that is determined by my cultural identity, profession, gender and educational background. I examine reflexive dialogue as pertaining to several factors: the influence of my background on the research topic; the changing nature of positionality in different cultural locations; methodological decisions that are based on my positionality and the research context; preparation to conduct fieldwork in two distinct cultural contexts; and ways to establish rapport, approachability and cultural credibility. I conclude by acknowledging the value of reflexive practice, and by determining my ambivalent insider–outsider positionality in different cultural locations.
For decades, studies investigated the attitudes of pre-service and in-service teachers towards inclusive education. Several studies indicated that positive teacher attitudes could lead to successful implementation of an inclusive classroom. This study explored in-service teacher attitudes and challenges through a qualitative research design by utilising semi-structured interviews to gain insight into the experiences of teachers with inclusion. The responses of the participants were compared between teachers who have been through initial teacher education and have fewer years of experience with teachers who have not been through initial teacher education and have many years of experience. The responses showed that teachers who graduated from an initial teacher education programme had very similar perceptions and attitudes towards inclusion as teachers who have not been through initial teacher education. The teachers indicated the different levels of support required for effective implementation of inclusion and identified the benefits of inclusive education.The study provided important implications for the new initial teacher education programme in Bahrain to better prepare teachers for the challenges of inclusion.
The global pursuit for inclusion officially started with the United Nations Salamanca Statement, which called for the integration of children with special educational needs (SEN) into mainstream schooling. This triggered a substantial universal restructure of education systems, which includes a major reconsideration of teacher education for inclusion in order to prepare teachers to teach their diverse learners. Through a comparative case study design, this study explores inclusive practices in primary education in England and Bahrain. More specifically, the study examines the way in which schools support teachers' in-service professional development (PD) which then aid in the implementation of inclusive education. The findings reveal PD practices for inclusion in England which focus on support for SEN and improving teacher attitudes towards inclusion as well as PD practices in Bahrain that emphasise the assimilation of new teachers and the promotion of a collaborative teaching environment.
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