Session Information
Contribution
This paper focuses on a research project about the development of in-service teacher education courses for inclusion. In particular, it discusses the issue of contextualizing teacher training courses to suit teachers’ profiles. This research is part of a two-year project conducted at the University of Cyprus and funded by the Research Promotion Foundation. Undoubtedly, this project is of fundamental importance for Cyprus as teachers are expected to respond to children with special needs without any training. Despite the calls of the existing law for integration (Ν.113(Ι)/99), no serious initiatives were taken by the state to provide adequate in-service training to teachers (Phtiaka, 2006).
Method
The research project aimed to record teachers´ views, attitudes and skills with regard to integration in a quantitative and qualitative way, in order to develop a teacher training program on inclusion. In this presentation, the quantitative findings of the research will be reported. In particular, semi-structured interviews were conducted with pre-primary, primary and secondary school teachers who volunteered to participate in the training course that would be developed. Interviews had duration of 45 minutes to one hour and aimed to elicit teachers views on the issues emerged from the previous quantitative phase of the project, the survey through a detailed questionnaire. Therefore, the questions focused on identifying teachers´ prior knowledge, attitudes and beliefs about inclusion and the nature of an ideal training course for inclusion. Interviews were transcribed and analyzed with ATLAS.ti, a qualitative data analysis package.
Expected Outcomes
Teachers` voice is important if we target the development of training programs that respect the participants´ background and the local culture. Generally speaking, the participants were positive about the idea of integration and they expressed their skepticism regarding traditional exclusionary ways of supporting children with special needs (Allan, 2006). Most of the participants expressed their pedagogical beliefs about teaching children with special needs, but they felt insecure about the ´rights´ and ´wrongs´ of their approach. The participants appeared to have inadequate training about the existing law, the principles of integration and inclusion and their role as teachers of all students. Last but not least, teachers expressed their wish to be supported with practical strategies and techniques to promote integration, leaving theory aside. In the light of these and other findings, the discussion focuses on how a training course for inclusion can be academically adequate and professionally useful, while at the same time it takes into consideration teachers’ values, profiles and expectations (Symeonidou, 2002).
References
Allan, J. (2006) The repetition of exclusion, International Journal of Inclusive Education, 10(2-3): 121-133. N.113(I)/99 Integration of Children with Special Needs Act (in Greek). Phtiaka, H. (2006) From separation to integration: parental assessment of State intervention, International Studies in Sociology of Education, 16 (3): 175-189. Symeonidou, S. (2002) Α critical consideration of current values on the education of disabled children, International Journal of Inclusive Education, 6(3): 217-229.
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