Teacher education has an essential role in shaping incoming teachers' positive attitudes towards inclusive education and the skills and knowledge to support the learning of different learners. Research has shown that teacher attitudes and self-efficacy are important determinants of success in inclusive classrooms because they influence teacher behavior, which in turn affects classroom climate and students´ chances of success (Avramidis & Norwich, 2002; Jordan et al., 2009; Silverman, 2007). Teachers' positive attitudes also predict success of inclusive education reforms (Forlin, 2010). Thus teachers' interpretations and understanding of their roles play a critical role in implementing inclusive practices. Research has indicated that examining teacher attitudes are crucial for developing more effective teacher training programmes (Engelbrecht & Savolainen, 2018); research is adamantly looking into ways that teacher training can assist in preparing teachers for a highly diverse yet inclusive educational reality (e.g. Peebles & Mendaglio, 2014; Sharma & Nuttal, 2016).

The preservice teacher education course "Implementation of Inclusive Education" was redesigned in Tallinn University with more emphasis on teacher professionalism and reflection, as well as one’s ability to carry out small-scale action research, collaborate and make research-informed decisions. The main aim of the course is to support  positive and self-efficient attitudes of future teachers for implementing inclusive education, as those attitudes encourage them to find strategies for providing quality educational opportunities for each learner in their classroom. After the course redesign,  teacher students’ attitudes at the beginning and after the course were mapped, and positive changes in their willingness to include, as well as self-efficacy were reported (Poom-Valickis & Ulla, 2019; Poom-Valickis & Ulla, forthcoming). The aim of the current study is to understand which course aspects contributed most to the change in teacher students’ attitudes and self-efficacy in inclusive practice. 

The  following research questions were posed: 

1. Which course aspects are perceived by teacher students as most relevant for impacting their knowledge, skills, and attitudes in inclusive education at the end of the course “Implementation of inclusive education at school”;

2. Which course aspects most predict positive changes in students' attitudes towards inclusion and their self-efficacy for inclusive practice, at the end of the course “Implementation of inclusive education at school”.

The results of the study may help evaluate which course aspects could be the most relevant predictors of change in attitudes and self-efficacy in inclusive education; and contribute to the evaluation and development of pre- and inservice teacher training programs related to inclusive education.

The current study collects data from the 2022/2023 cohort of Tallinn University teacher training (n=150). The following data collection instruments will be used to allow more in-depth inferences about the possible role of the “Implementation of inclusive education at school” course in preservice teachers' attitudes and self-efficacy. For data collection about preservice teachers attitudes about the inclusive settings, the Teachers Attitudes Towards Inclusive Education (Saloviita, 2015) will be used. The instrument Teacher Efficacy in Inclusive Practice (Sharma, Loreman & Forlin, 2012) will be used for efficacy. A scale of course aspects is created by the authors of the study based on previous rounds of data collection, namely teacher students’ qualitative accounts of the course aspects that increased their self-efficacy and openness towards inclusion. Additionally, background data about participants' teaching experience, additional training in inclusive education topics, and personal experience with people with special educational needs will be collected. Data collection for the 2022/2023 cohort takes place in February and May 2023. Linear regression analysis will be used to assess which course aspects would predict the increase or decrease in self-efficacy and positive attitudes towards inclusion.

The current study takes a novel approach by listing relevant course aspects from previous qualitative data collection rounds, and assessing the relationship between relevant course aspects and attitudes towards and self-efficacy in inclusive education quantitatively. This may further inform teacher trainers of the efficient aspects of curricula or course designs that may best prepare teacher students for the inclusive education reality, as well as add to the discussion of quality teacher training design in inclusive education. Based on the data collected in 2022, small-scale action research with its collaborative and thorough evidence based approach to a specific student or situation, may contribute significantly to the positive change in teacher students’ attitudes and self-efficacy in inclusive education.

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