The study is concerned with the professional knowledge and skills for teaching acquired by final year Bachelor of Education (B.Ed) students through their teaching and learning experiences in preservice education. In particular, it focuses on students' perceptions of their preparation and professional knowledge and skills to plan for and teach pupils with special educational needs (SEN) in mainstream primary school. The introduction of the Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs Act 2004 (EPSEN) with its inclusive emphasis, and the implications of this Act for schools and teacher education, along with the recommendations outlined in the Review of Primary Teacher Education (2002) provide the context for the study. The theoretical framework for the study arises from integral-distinct paradigmatic assumptions and the extent to which these have influenced perceptions of people with SEN and social, systemic and organisational approaches to their education, contributing to the legal, policy and practice basis for models of educational provision for particular groups of pupils from exclusion to segregation towards inclusion. The current practice of implementing a 'focused model' for initial teacher education aimed at providing additional specialist input on special educational needs and the absence of a 'permeation model' provided by an inter/ trans-disciplinary approach to special education at preservice level further reflects integral-distinct paradigmatic influences. Within this theoretical framework, the sustainability of purist positions upheld by dominant paradigms is questioned and an integral-distinctive 'connective specialisation' is considered. For the purpose of the study, the following questions were addressed: 1. Are there differences in perceptions between final year B.Ed students who completed a special education elective and those who completed other electives in relation to the relevance of preservice education courses to their practice as teachers? 2. Are there differences in perceptions between final year B.Ed students who completed a special education elective and those who completed other electives in relation to their professional knowledge and skills? 3. Are there differences in perceptions between final year B.Ed students who completed a special education elective and those who completed other electives in relation to their expected involvement in teaching pupils with special educational needs? The perceptions of two groups of final year Bachelor of Education students about their initial preparation for primary teaching were investigated. A sample of 50 students from St. Patrick's College, 25 of whom had completed a special education elective on emotional, behavioural and autistic spectrum disorders and the remaining 25 who had completed other electives, were asked to rate the extent to which their preservice education courses were relevant to their practice as teachers, and the extent of their professional knowledge and skills. Replies were received from all 50 students. Analysis of ratings shows that higher ratings on aspects of professional knowledge and skills related to planning and teaching for pupils with special educational needs are associated with completing the special education elective. Issues for initial teacher education are discussed and implications for preservice teacher education reform within the context of 'connective specialisation' are explored.