Abstract
This paper reveals the beliefs of higher education institutional heads about the challenges they face in preparing pre-service teachers for inclusive education in Bangladesh. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 22 institutional heads. Data were analysed by applying thematic analysis procedure. Challenges were found in four theme areas: attitudinal beliefs, academic challenges, challenges in practicum and challenges for beginning teachers. Lack of appropriate information in the teacher preparation curriculum, untrained teacher educators, limited resources, inappropriate teaching-learning approaches, insufficient practicum experiences, and large class sizes were some of the major challenges identified. Participants also identified some useful strategies to address the challenges which ranged from curriculum reform, emphasizing practicum more than theories, human resource development empowering institutional heads to implement inclusion and resource support. Implications of the findings for university educators are discussed.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 241-257 |
Number of pages | 17 |
Journal | Asia Pacific Journal of Education |
Volume | 32 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Jun 2012 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Bangladesh
- curriculum reform
- higher education institutions
- inclusive education
- pre-service teacher education
- teacher beliefs
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Education