ATTITUDE OF TEACHER TRAINEES TOWARDS INCLUSIVE EDUCATION

Globally schools are becoming more inclusive in practice to provide meaningful learning experiences to students with disabilities in the least restrictive environment. Research has documented that teachers with positive attitudes toward inclusion are more likely to modify their instruction and curriculum to meet individual needs of students and have a more positive approach to inclusion. It is the responsibility of teacher training programmes to prepare teachers who can meet expectations of implementing inclusive education programme effectively. The present study was aimed to explore the views of teacher trainees undergoing two-year Bachelor of Education (B. Ed.) programme about inclusion and their readiness to teach in inclusive classrooms. In this study, the Scale of Teachers' Attitudes Toward Inclusive Classrooms (STATIC) was used to collect data and 300 teacher trainees studying in their second year of the teacher training programme in two colleges of education in Jammu city were included in the study. The results indicated that generally, teacher trainees had a positive attitude toward inclusion in schools. The findings highlight that there was a significant difference in attitude towards inclusion between urban and rural teacher trainees. However, there was no significant difference in the attitude towards inclusion among the sub-groups of teacher trainees on the basis of qualification, previous awareness about inclusion or familiarity with the disability in the family. Some suggestions and recommendations for improvement of teacher education programmes vis-a-vis inclusion have also been given.