Student teachers’ attitudes towards cooperative learning in inclusive education

Past research points to cooperative learning as a potentially effective means of fostering the academic and social development of students in inclusive education. This study examined the attitudes of student teachers towards the use of cooperative learning in inclusive education as well as correlating variables. In addition, potential differences between future teachers’ attitudes towards the use of cooperative learning methods in inclusive classrooms were investigated according to the teaching programme they were enrolled in and the students’ type of impairment. In two consecutive studies, we collected data from a total of 544 student teachers. Analyses revealed relationships between student teachers’ knowledge, self-efficacy, attitudes, and subjective norms regarding the use of cooperative learning in inclusive education. Results also showed differences in attitudes towards the use of cooperative learning in inclusive education depending on the students’ type of impairment, with the least positive attitudes held towards students with impaired social-emotional development.