Abstract:

The staff in pre-schools and higher-level educational frameworks that integrate special-needs students must deal with the complexity and resulting heterogeneity in academic, social, emotional, and behavioral aspects. Generally speaking, in Israel and globally, teacher training is divided between special education and regular education. That is, pre-service teachers studying towards a diploma in regular education receive extensive training in their discipline of specialization but do not receive special training regarding the theoretical and practical aspects of inclusion of special-needs students. Furthermore, the teaching staff in the training institutions, that is to say, the pedagogical instructors who accompany the pre-service regular-education teachers when they undergo their practical experience, are also unfamiliar with the knowledge and experience required toward special education and inclusion. This means that despite the increase in special-needs students who are being integrated into the regular educational system as a result of legislative and policy processes, there is not enough reference to this during teacher training.

This study examined the differences between pedagogical instructors in regular education and pedagogical instructors in special education with respect to their perceptions of integration and optimal integration components.

The results indicate major gaps in the perception of integration among both groups of teacher educators. This is a cause for concern, given that regular-education pedagogical instructors are entrusted with the training of future teachers who are destined to work in integrated frameworks (not specifically special education) that will require multi-professional cooperation and specialized knowledge about social-emotional and behavioral-differentiated instruction.

Keywords:

Special education, inclusive education, Teacher training.