The ratification of the UN-Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities by the German-speaking countries leads to challenges in the educational systems. In particular, this concerns effective ways of elaborating inclusive learning processes on the one hand and creating opportunities for a systematic training of pre-service teachers for inclusive schools on the other hand. Currently, there is a need of studies that deal with different aspects of the development of pre-service teachers` competences for inclusive schools. Pre-service teachers` attitudes towards inclusion and their motivation to engage in inclusive educational issues during their studies seem to be important conditions for the professional development of their competencies for inclusive schools. For example, research has shown that pre-service teachers` attitudes towards inclusion are correlated with their self-efficacy beliefs (Ahsan, Sharma & Deppler, 2012; Sarı, Çeliköz & Seçer, 2009). Moreover, Bosse und Spörer (2014) could show the relation of pre-service teachers` experiences in inclusive learning environments and their attitudes towards inclusion in school. The importance of pre-service teachers` attitudes toward inclusion for their motivation to engage in inclusive educational issues during their studies is so far unclear. In this study, we investigated pre-service teachers` attitudes towards inclusion, their self-efficacy beliefs, their motivation to engage in inclusive educational issues during their studies and their experiences in joint education of children with and without special needs in Germany (N=765) and Austria (N=519). The results from structural equation modeling illustrate the importance of self-efficacy beliefs and experiences in joint education of children with and without special needs regarding the pre-service teachers` attitudes towards inclusive education. In both samples pre-service teachers` motivation to engage in inclusive educational issues during their studies are predicted by their attitudes towards inclusive education.

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