Many countries have enacted legislation and policies to promote inclusion following international developments, such as the Education 2030 Framework for Action which highlights the need to address inequalities in education (UNESCO 2017). Inclusive education is linked to a human rights-based approach and teachers should be equipped with the appropriate skills to teach diverse students seeing individual differences as opportunities for enriching learning (Ainscow 2020).

Research suggests there is a positive correlation between teachers’ attitudes and teachers’ classroom practice (Sharma and Sokal, 2016) and that teachers with positive attitudes are more likely to adapt their pedagogy to support all students, while also promoting inclusion among their colleagues (Sharma et al., 2008). Developing effective inclusive practice begins in the teachers’ professional preparation when pre-service teachers reconsider their own beliefs about human differences and develop inclusive practices. Therefore, teachers’ professional development is important for inclusive classroom practice and for this reason there has been an emphasis on pre-service teachers’ acquired attitudes towards inclusive education and on initial teacher education programs that influence these attitudes (Forlin et al., 2009).

According to research, preservice teachers are positive of the principles of inclusive education (Goddard and Evans, 2018; Beacham and Rouse 2012) but they are anxious and unsure of the implementation of inclusive practices and how to support all students in their classes (Black-Hawkins and Amrhein, 2014). This research focuses on the Scottish and Finnish pre-service teachers’ ways of thinking about difference within the classroom and their views on inclusive pedagogical approaches.

In Finland, teachers are expected to be able to support all students. Compulsory education is guided to follow the inclusion principle (Finnish National Agency for Education, 2016), so there is a need to improve pre-service teachers’ skills to teach everyone in the classroom (Malinen et al., 2012). Similarly, teachers in Scotland are also expected to be prepared to respond to the diversity in their classrooms. Teacher education programmes across Scotland embed inclusion and encourage a response to learner diversity that avoids marking some students as different (Florian and Black- Hawkins, 2011). However, questions raised by researchers and teachers and concerns that it is difficult toimplementinclusive schooling practices (Rouse 2008) suggest that there is still work to be done.

Inclusive education is an important goal for both countries evidencing commitment to the sustainable development goal (SDG) 4 (UN General Assembly, 2015). There are variations between the two education systems and the teacher education programmes in terms of their structure and content. However, for both contexts Initial Teacher Education is being concerned with inclusive education.

The study aims to answer three key research questions:

1. How do pre-service primary teachers in Scotland and Finland understand inclusive practice?
2. What are the good qualities of inclusive practices according to their views?
3. What are the similarities and differences in pre-service primary teachers’ understandings in Scotland and Finland?

This is a comparative small-scale (N = 12- 16) qualitative study. We collected data through four focus groups (3/4 participants each focus group, duration 1hour). Participants were a purposeful sample of pre-service primary teachers (male and female) enrolled in their 2nd and 4th year of a 4-year primary teacher preparation programme in Scotland at the University of Stirling, and a 5-year primary teacher preparation in Finland, University of Turku. Three to four 2nd year and three to four 4-year primary students from each university participated voluntarily in focus groups. The second-year students have a basic understanding about education, issues relating to the Philosophy of Education; Psychology of Education and Sociology of Education and how these fields play out in educational processes and practice, covered in year 1 of their education degree. Their participation can offer an insight into their beliefs and attitudes towards inclusive teaching before they are exposed to the pedagogical approaches and values expressed throughout their education degree. In contrast, the fourth-year pre-service teachers have almost completed their education degree, having studied modules on pedagogy and inclusion. Open ended questions allow for individual responses and are seen as a valid way of studying opinions and attitudes. The focus groups were conducted online using Teams. They were video and audio recorded and pseudonyms were used. All participants were asked to read and keep a copy of an information sheet which included information about the project’s purpose and the reason they have been invited to participate. Furthermore, participants were asked to sign electronically the consent to participation form and to give their consent orally at the start of the recording. All contributions from the participants were treated as confidential. A thematic analysis method (Clarke and Braun, 2013) was used to identify key themes from pre-service teachers’ focus group interviews.

We are currently analysing the data. The empirical qualitative findings will contribute to the research on teachers’ professional preparation as inclusive practitioners. In both contexts, it is expected that this research will glean insights into how pre-service teachers think about difference within the classroom, who is included and who is excluded from learning. Differentiation strategies and examples of good quality inclusive practice aligning with the concept of inclusive pedagogy (Florian et al. 2010) will be shared but also practices that are designed for ‘most’ students. Differences in practices related to educational structures between Scotland and Finland are expected. Additionally, we expect a better understanding of inclusive practice and fewer concerns from 4th year students who will have almost completed their education degree compared to 2nd year students. The findings of this study will inform future planning in teachers’ professional education contributing to the quality of initial teacher education programmes in Europe and beyond.

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