A Comparison of Australian Pre, Primary and Secondary School Pre-Service Teacher Attitudes to Inclusive Education

Abstract

In the current study 649 Australian pre-service teachers' attitudes toward the inclusion of additional support needs (ASN) students were investigated using the Teacher Attitudes to Inclusion Scale Adapted (TALSA). Significant results indicated secondary school focused pre-service teachers displayed less positive attitudes toward inclusion than pre-service teachers with a primary school focus. When considering the impact of additional variables such as previous special educational training and year level of enrolled study, significant differences in attitudes toward inclusion emerged across pre, primary and secondary school pre-service teacher cohorts. Limitations surround the restricted sample demographic of pre-service teachers from one university branch in Victoria, Australia. Nonetheless, the current findings have far reaching implications for future redevelopments of teacher-training programs and provide empirical insight into an underdeveloped area of research.