The teacher in Early Childhood Education facing inclusive education: competencies and needs

Initial Teacher Education (ITE) must be studied in line with the changing and diverse reality of schools. The qualification of future early childhood teachers will depend on their mastery of theoretical and practical knowledge and the importance they attach to having this knowledge available in their professional practice. The present study analyses the degree of mastery and relevance that students give to the competences in attention to diversity acquired during their university education and the perceived training needs. Under a mixed methods research approach and a sequential explanatory design, the Professional Profiles Questionnaire of the Degree in Early Childhood Education was designed and applied to 141 students of the University of A Coruna, in the 3(rd) and 4(th) year. A positive appraisal of the ITE in attention to diversity was observed, although the degree of mastery was lower than the relevance given in all the dimensions studied. The presence of ongoing training needs was noted, especially in the areas of diagnostic knowledge and cooperation between professionals; in addition, a more practical orientation of learning was demanded, both directly and indirectly, and in disciplinary theory. Everything point to the need to introduce improvements in the ITE by incorporating more practical contents, together with the search for greater commitment of students and practicing teachers to continuous training that will allow them to adapt their actions to each new challenge and demand of the changing society.