Developing Inclusive Practice: A role for teachers and teacher education?

Although there is widespread support for inclusion at a philosophical level, there are some concerns that the policy of inclusion is difficult to implement because teachers are not sufficiently well prepared and supported to work in inclusive ways. Inclusion requires teachers to accept the responsibility for creating schools in which all children can learn and feel they belong. In this task, teachers are crucial because of the central role they play in promoting participation and reducing underachievement, particularly with children who might be perceived as having difficulties in learning. The paper reviews some of the barriers to the development of successful inclusive schools and suggests that one way of overcoming these difficulties is to reconsider the roles, responsibilities and identities of teachers. It also provides some suggestions about the role of teacher education in the development of teachers’ skills, knowledge, attitudes and beliefs. In this context, the Inclusive Practice Project (IPP) at the University of Aberdeen is working with colleagues on the reform of the Post Graduate Diploma of Education (PGDE) to look at different ways in which teachers and schools can become more inclusive of children who might have found learning and participation difficult in the past. Some details of the Project are provided.