Pre-service teachers’ experiences of schooling: Implications for preparation for inclusive education

Rusznyak, Lee; Walton, Elizabeth; Kenny, Jacqueline

Abstract

Teacher educators in South Africa face challenges of preparing new teachers for an inclusive education system that has been accepted as policy but is not yet fully realised in school contexts. Pre-service teachers entering teacher preparation programmes are themselves a product of a schooling system in which many inequalities and marginalising practices are still prevalent. In this article, we present an analysis of the extent to which pre-service teachers’ personal experiences within the schooling system influenced their perceptions about the benefits and drawbacks of 2 common organisational arrangements made for learners who experience barriers to learning. An analysis of empirical data from a questionnaire and individual interviews suggests that participants who had personally observed or experienced particular arrangements were more likely to hold fixed views about their potential benefits or drawbacks. We consider the implications of this finding for teacher education programmes that seek to produce teachers who can teach inclusively in the South African schooling system.

Citation

Rusznyak, L., Walton, E., & Kenny, J. (2022). Pre-service teachers’ experiences of schooling: Implications for preparation for inclusive education. South African Journal of Education, 42(3), Article 2090. https://doi.org/10.15700/saje.v42n3a2090

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Oct 7, 2021
• Publication Date: 2022-08
• Deposit Date: Oct 17, 2021
• Publicly Available Date: Aug 31, 2022
• Journal: South African Journal of Education
• Electronic ISSN: 2076-3433
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 42
• Issue: 3
• Article Number: 2090
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.15700/saje.v42n3a2090
• Keywords: exclusion; inclusive education; pre-service teacher; special needs; teacher education
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/6499649
• Publisher URL: http://www.sajournalofeducation.co.za/index.php/saje/article/view/2090/1203
• Related Public URLs: http://www.sajournalofeducation.co.za/index.php/saje