Journal of Education & Social Policy

Preservice Teachers’ Attitudes toward Inclusive Education before and After Student Teaching
Tammy A. Feila, Cynthia A. Ferrarob, Mark R. Feilc

Abstract
Inclusion is an educational strategy practiced around the world. One of the keys to its success is a positive attitude on the part of the teacher. This study examined the attitudes of preservice teachers before and after student teaching who received extensive special education coursework and fieldwork as part of their curriculum. While the majority of participants did not change their positive attitudes during the student teaching experience, some felt less confident teaching in an inclusion classroom afterward than they did at the beginning. Furthermore, after student teaching, about half of the study participants said they did not want to teach in an inclusion setting as a career.

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