As in many European countries, in Iceland it has been recognised that mainstream (i.e., neighbourhood) schools should be the first choice for students with special educational needs. To accommodate these needs, mainstream schools must adhere to the Icelandic school system’s official policy of inclusive education that “involves teachers’ education and the whole schooling system of education and teaching” to achieve “quality education for everyone, democracy and social justice in schools” (The Icelandic Research Center on School Inclusion, n.d.).

            Thus far, the most important piece of legislation affecting the provision of special education has been the Compulsory School Act (CSA) of 2008 (Menntamálaráðuneytið, 2008), which stipulates that all students in Iceland receive 10 years of compulsory schooling. Though the CSA does not use the term ‘special education’, it suggests that compulsory schooling should be inclusive. Prior to implementing the CSA, Iceland had adopted the view that all students, regardless of disability, should attend their neighbourhood school and that students with special educational needs should not be segregated in special schools (Menntamálaráðuneytið, 1999, 2006). Iceland has also adopted the vision of the Salamanca Statement and its framework for Action on Special Educational Needs (Menntamálaráðuneytið, 1995).

            Though arguably clear, the legislation continues to be debated.  Dóra Bjarnason (2009) points out that the movement toward educating all students in neighbourhood schools is by no means universally agreed upon by parents and teachers in Iceland. Researchers have concluded that inclusionary practices have not been fully implemented (Marinósson, 2007), as well as that some teachers have experienced workload increases without due compensation (Jóhannesson, 2006), which may have prompted negative attitudes toward inclusion. These negative attitudes toward inclusion held by teachers do not constitute a phenomenon unique to Iceland. In a review of primary schoolteachers’ attitudes toward inclusion in several countries, researchers de Boer, Pijl, and Minnaert (2011) concluded that teachers seem to be either negative or undecided toward inclusive education. Such negative or neutral attitudes are alarming, for as Curcic (2009) has indicated, teachers and their beliefs will influence both the effectiveness of their teaching practices for all students, which underscores that cultivating positive attitudes in teachers is the first step in providing quality education for everyone.

            This paper will thus examine factors related to current attitudes toward inclusion in Iceland using data collected in the multidisciplinary project called Teaching and Learning in Icelandic Schools 2009–2011that concerned teaching and learning in schools for students aged 6 to 15 years. With the aim to contribute to the body of knowledge on teaching and learning in Icelandic schools, data for the study was collected with questionnaires, interviews, observations, and official document analysis. One question asked by the researchers addressed the attitudes of school staff (i.e., teachers, principals, and other staff members) regarding inclusion.

            The factors related to attitudes toward inclusion emanate not only from the personal experiences of the individuals involved but also out of the cultural differences among different schools. The research questions seek to investigate how these factors, personal experiences, and school cultures relate to attitudes toward inclusion in Icelandic schools. Consequently, I seek to answer these questions by analysing data from questionnaires, as well as from observations and official documents.

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