A brief report of teachers’ attitudes toward inclusion in Castilla-La Mancha, Spain

Abstract

Teachers are essential agents to fulfil the educational inclusion of students with disabilities. The current concept of inclusive education brings to light the need for assessment of pre-service and in-service teachers’ attitudes toward inclusion, so the present paper aimed to analyze those attitudes in pre-service and in-service teachers. The Spanish version of the Teachers’ Attitudes towards Inclusive Education Scale was applied to a total of 320 students of the Bachelor in Teacher Education and 89 in-service teachers. The results did not reveal differences between teachers and students. However, specific training and previous contact experiences with people with disabilities showed a positive effect on attitudes toward inclusion. Furthermore, women showed more positive attitudes. To conclude, the results revealed that it is necessary to include activities to get in contact with people with disabilities and broader specific training on the topic to promote positive attitudes toward inclusion in teachers.

Keywords

• Special needs education
• Initial teacher training
• Diversity