ABSTRACT

Community colleges have a significant role in preparing early childhood educators who will likely one day teach in inclusive classrooms. Inclusive education models educate children with disabilities alongside their non-disabled peers, promoting acceptance, decreasing discrimination, and fostering a society in which everyone lives and works together. Teachers’ experiences in working with children who have disabilities and attitudes toward disability affect teacher behavior and practice. The preservice teacher training years are important for preparing teacher candidates to teach in inclusive classrooms; thus, it is imperative that teacher educators have knowledge of methods that will positively impact teacher attitudes toward disability and offer experiences in classrooms with children who have disabilities. This study investigated the effect of an introductory special education course at a community college that included a fieldwork component in inclusive classrooms, as well as the ability status of the course’s professor on early childhood preservice teachers’ attitudes toward disability. Mixed methods pre- and posttest data was collected from 108 students enrolled in a large urban community college’s teacher education program. Students attended class in-person with a professor who had a disability, in-person with a professor who did not have a disability, or online. Posttest results indicated that student attitudes toward disability became significantly more favorable after completing the course, but the professor’s disability status did not influence the change. While there were positive changes, some students continued to objectify disability and perceive disability with a deficit lens. Further research is needed to foster positive attitudes toward disability in teachers.

摘要

社区学院在培养幼儿教育工作者方面发挥着重要作用，他们可能有一天会在包容性课堂上任教。全纳教育模式让残疾儿童与非残疾儿童一起接受教育，促进接纳，减少歧视，并营造一个人人共同生活和工作的社会。教师与残疾儿童一起工作的经历和对残疾的态度会影响教师的行为和实践。职前教师培训年对于准备在包容性课堂上任教的教师候选人很重要；因此，教师教育者必须了解能够积极影响教师对待残疾的态度并为残疾儿童提供课堂体验的方法。本研究调查了社区学院介绍性特殊教育课程的效果，该课程包括包容性课堂中的实地考察部分，以及该课程教授的能力状况对幼儿职前教师对残疾的态度。混合方法的前后测试数据是从 108 名参加大型城市社区学院教师教育计划的学生中收集的。学生与有残疾的教授亲自上课，与没有残疾的教授亲自上课，或在线上课。后测结果表明，学生对残疾的态度在完成课程后变得更加有利，但教授的残疾状况并未影响这种变化。虽然有积极的变化，一些学生继续客观化残疾并用缺陷镜头来看待残疾。需要进一步的研究来培养教师对残疾的积极态度。