As classrooms become more inclusive, major adjustments are necessary to prepare teachers for more diverse student populations. Research findings suggest that universities (or other teacher training institutions) and their students will become pivotal in ensuring the success of inclusion. In line with this, many institutes of higher education (universities and teacher training institutions) have started incorporating more inclusive education content within their courses. In the pre-service ESL teacher education program in Institutes of Teacher Education Malaysia (ITE), Inclusive Education (TSLB3132) is a two-credit course taught when the pre-service teachers are in their third year of the teaching degree program. The course covers a range of theoretical topics which include concepts, policies, stakeholder involvement, the challenges and success factors and the pedagogy of Inclusive Education (IE) spans over a semester. This paper considers the perception in terms of teaching beliefs and philosophy of inclusive education and readiness of a group of ESL pre-service teachers who have undergone this course.

Inclusive education as outlined by the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) is understood to be a fundamental human right to equal education through the recognition and elimination of barriers that restrict equal access to education for all learners (United Nations 2016). Malaysia pledges its commitment to inclusive education through the ‘Malaysian Education Blueprint 2013-2025’ (MOE, 2012) in which one of its aspirations is that  “75% of students with special needs enrolled in inclusive programs by 2025” and “every teacher equipped with basic knowledge of inclusive education” (MOE, 2013). Because of this, main stream teachers need to have both the skills and knowledge to implement inclusive pedagogy successfully in their mainstream classrooms. Hence, it is one of the roles of teacher education programs to prepare teachers for the realities of diverse classrooms through theoretical foundations, pedagogy, content, curriculum knowledge, and most importantly authentic and practical experiences.

There have been growing discussions, views, perceptions, and concerns about the teaching of inclusive education more so in teacher preparation programs. Studies exploring the attitudes, efficacy, perceptions, and beliefs of teachers have been the focal point of numerous studies with differing outcomes. Although successful, inclusion depends on effective collaboration between teachers, schools, and other factors, it greatly depends on the teachers’ educational backgrounds and attitudes. Teacher attitudes toward inclusion are influenced by several factors such as teachers’ gender (Alghazo & Gaad, 2004), teachers’ personal beliefs (Dupoux, Wolman, & Estrada, 2005), the severity of the student’s disability (Langdon & Vesper, 2000), as well as teachers’ training and instructional skills (Haq & Mundia, 2012).

In this qualitative exploratory-based study, an open-ended online questionnaire and a focus group discussion were used to explore the teaching beliefs, philosophy, and readiness of a group of 35 pre-service ESL teachers. The findings of the data revealed several pivotal themes that point towards the nature of their teaching beliefs and philosophy of inclusive education and their readiness to teach inclusively in mainstream classrooms. 

ESL Pre-Service Teachers’ Teaching Beliefs and Philosophy on Inclusive Education

Most of the pre-service ESL teacher trainees’ were able to articulate their teaching beliefs and philosophy in regards to inclusive education. A prevalent theme that presented itself is the belief of equal educational rights for all learners as depicted below in the written descriptions: 

“Inclusive Education is fundamental towards the effort of education for all, regardless of differences of pupils. As a teacher, I believe we should start with acceptance and willingness to adapt our lessons to meet the needs of SEN pupils. Personally, my philosophy revolves around the mindset of “Come as you are”; no matter how pupils bring themselves to us, it is our duty to serve and meet their needs the best that we can, especially in implementing effective and inclusive pedagogy” (PST 4, Teaching Beliefs )

“I believe that inclusive education is significant to promote the equity of learning. Teacher should eliminate any discrimination or bias towards inclusive education but giving more attention to them and catering to their needs.  It’s indeed our obligation as a teacher to bring this inclusive education to success by modifying the teaching pedagogies” (PST 20, Teaching Beliefs )

Across the data, the teacher trainees also expressed positive beliefs about their roles as future teachers in inclusive classrooms as exemplified below : 

“Acceptance towards inclusive education is ultimately fundamental in promoting the equity of learning.. As a future educator, I am willing to adapt and bring forth my teaching strategies following the pupils’ demands and needs, in upholding the worth and dignity of individuals” (PST 11, Teaching Beliefs )

“Throughout this course, it really is an eye-opener to me as to how implement successful and effective pedagogies in the teaching and learning experiences for the students”  (PST 8, Teaching Beliefs )

The findings pointed to a favorable conception of the teacher trainees’ overall beliefs and teaching philosophy in regard to Inclusive Education on the whole. Did this conception however sustain as they progressed through the course?

ESL Pre-Service Teachers’ Readiness to Teach Inclusive Education in the main stream classroom

While the pre-service ESL teachers indicated positive responses in terms of their teaching beliefs and philosophy towards inclusive education, they expressed concerns about their own readiness to teach in inclusive classrooms. The concerns were mostly based on pedagogical readiness and managing students with special needs in the classroom. The findings from the data derived mostly from the focus group discussion and the questionnaire highlighted the theme of pedagogical-based preparation and classroom management support for the SEN (Special Education Needs) students. The lack of knowledge and skills in managing the SEN students seem to present itself rather prominently in the data as portrayed in the excerpts below:

“The biggest concern I have is my lack of knowledge and skills in accommodating these children in their learning. I am afraid that I can’t help these children to have opportunities in their life due to my incompetence” (PST 6, FGD )

“One of the concerns that I have in regards to teaching English in an inclusive classroom is modifying my lessons to cater to the SEN pupils. There are some factors to take into consideration, such as classroom management, as well as time constraints. Hence, I must try to find the support that I need to be able to teach effectively” (PST 7, FGD )

“My concern will be the classroom management. I am afraid that I could not handle all of the students during the teaching and learning session. Other than that, teaching English as a second language is not easy and to provide enough knowledge for all of the students in an inclusive classroom would need me to double my effort in preparing the lesson. Above all, I believe that preparing myself to teach inclusive education is a must and my student’s progress and achievement is the primary goal for me in teaching” (PST 18, FGD)

Similarly, in terms of pedagogical readiness, the pre-service ESL teachers expressed the need for more forms of pedagogical support in terms of professional development, collaboration, and instructional strategies as depicted in the discussion extracts: 

“Special training and courses on how to teach and identify special needs children or involvement of a more professional person as a co-teacher in the classroom to aide inclusive teaching” (PST 23, FGD )

“Teaching and material support. It would be beneficial for me to teach an inclusive classroom with the help from a special education teacher and at the same time, the SEN teacher shares his/her knowledge and ideas on suitable material to be used especially to help SEN students learn” (PST2, FGD )

“As an English teacher, a type of support that would be helpful to me as an English teacher is collaborating with SEN teachers as they can provide clear and helpful instructions in the management of SEN pupils” (PST 35, FGD )

The concerns highlighted by the pre-service ESL teachers when interviewed about their readiness to teach in an inclusive classroom indicated considerations that must be addressed during the course training. Readiness to teach according to the inclusive approach refers to the teacher’s intention to take steps to include students with disability in the classroom. Some studies exhibit positive beliefs and intentions to include students with a disability in regular classes (Low, Lee, & Che Ahmad, 2018), while some exhibit reluctance in having students especially with severe disability in their classrooms as this requires additional resources from them (Majoko, 2016). Studies have suggested the need for professional development courses focusing on skills for teachers to be able to identify special needs problems, the learning culture of SEN students, and the knowledge of disability needs (Florian, 2012; Nichols & Sheffield, 2014). This can be embedded in the course training alongside the theoretical and pedagogical concepts of Inclusive Education as a way to prepare pre-service teachers to be more confident in teaching inclusively in mainstream ESL classrooms. The present study has paved the way for the need for a more holistic approach to Inclusive Education besides just focusing on its theoretical concepts. 

References

Alghazo, E. M., & Naggar Gaad, E. E. (2004). General education teachers in the United Arab Emirates and their acceptance of the inclusion of students with disabilities. British Journal of Special Education, 31(2), 94-99.

Dupoux, E., Wolman, C., & Estrada, E. (2005). Teachers’ attitudes toward integration of students with disabilities in Haiti and the United States. International Journal of Disability, Development and Education, 52(1), 43-58.

Florian, L. (2012). Preparing teachers to work in inclusive classrooms: Key lessons for the professional development of teacher educators from Scotland’s inclusive practice project. Journal of Teacher Education, 63(4), 275-285.

Haq, F. S., & Mundia, L. (2012). Comparison of Brunei preservice student teachers’ attitudes to inclusive education and specific disabilities: Implications for teacher education. The Journal of Educational Research, 105(5), 366-374.

Langdon, C. A., & Vesper, N. (2000). The sixth Phi Delta Kappa poll of teachers’ attitudes toward the public schools. The Phi Delta Kappan, 81(8), 607-611.

Low, H. M., Lee, L. W., & Che Ahmad, A. (2018). Pre-service teachers’ attitude towards inclusive education for students with Autism Spectrum Disorder in Malaysia. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 22(3), 235-251.

Majoko, T. (2016). Inclusion in early childhood education: pre-service teachers voices. Early Child Development and Care, 186(11), 1859-1872.

Nichols, S. C., & Sheffield, A. N. (2014, March). Is There An Elephant in the Room? Considerations that Administrators Tend to Forget when Facilitating Inclusive Practices among General and Special Education Teachers. In National Forum of Applied Educational Research Journal (Vol. 27).

Written by Shubashini Suppiah

*The views expressed in this article do not necessarily represent HIVE Educators.