Views of pre-service teachers on their preparation towards inclusive education in selected colleges of education in the eastern region of Ghana

Abstract

This study examined views of pre-service teachers on their preparation towards inclusive education in selected Colleges of Education in the Eastern Region of Ghana. This was premised on the argument that teacher preparation is a key consideration in the implementation of inclusive education. The self-efficacy theory was adopted for the study. The study employed the cross-sectional design to recruit 287 respondents made up of 272 level 300 pre-service teachers and 15 tutors for the study. In selecting the sample, the researcher used non-probability sampling involving quota sampling technique to select 20% of the pre-service teachers, while a purposive sampling technique was adopted for the selection of tutors in the Colleges of Education. Data from questionnaire were fed into Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 22.0 software and the mean scores were computed and used for the analysis and interpretation. The results of the study showed that the pre-service teachers had demonstrable knowledge of inclusive education, but there were mixed reactions to their ability to adapt the curriculum to meet the learning needs of diverse learners in inclusive classrooms. Based on the findings, it was recommended among others that the curriculum for the Colleges of Education should be reviewed to ensure that pre-service teachers have the necessary skills attitudes, confidence and competence to design and deliver inclusive curricular for a diverse range of learners to improve their participation in learning.