Perspectives of pre-service and in-service general education teachers of the Faculty of Education on inclusive education: A phenomenological study

Abstract

Inclusive education is an international trend. Globally, the move away from segregation to the inclusion of children with and without special educational needs in regular classrooms has evolved over the past few decades as one of the significant strategies to ensure the right to “Education for All”. While high-income countries have envisaged living up to the ideals of inclusive education, this remains daunting for low-income countries, including Sri Lanka. On the general assumption that general education teachers must be equipped with relevant knowledge, appropriate skills, and favourable dispositions to effectively work with an increasingly heterogeneous student population in regular classrooms, and teacher education institutions must play a significant role in preparing them to serve this purpose, however, in practice the question that always arises is how adequately they are being prepared. This phenomenological, qualitative, transcendental inquiry sought to investigate the daily lived experiences of general education teachers about their inclusive teaching. More specifically, with four pre-service teachers enrolled in the Bachelor of Education (Honours) degree and four in-service teachers enrolled in the Postgraduate Diploma in Education programs conducted by the Faculty of Education of the University of Colombo, Sri Lanka, this study explored their knowledge and understanding of inclusive education, epistemological beliefs and attitudes toward accommodating children with special needs in their inclusive classrooms, and their concerns about and preparedness to implement inclusive practices. Data obtained from semi-structured, face-to-face interviews were considered the primary source for the inductive thematic analysis. Key findings, derived from four themes; i. Knowledge and understanding of inclusive education for special needs children; ii. Sentiments and concerns; iii. Behaviour management; and iv. Learning-support teachers were discussed for their implications for further research within the context of teacher education.