PLANNING OUTLINE 2
What Needs to be Done to Better Prepare Pre-Service Teachers to Work with Students
with Disabilities in Inclusive Settings?
I. Introduction
A. Interest: I chose this particular issue because, being in the field of special
education for the past twenty-three years, I have seen first-year teachers
celebrate their successes in working with students with disabilities, but I have
also seen first-year teachers defeated, frustrated, and overwhelmed in how to
help and work with students with disabilities. General education teachers face
many challenges when working with SWDs, as each student with a disability
has their own unique needs.1 General education teachers need to be able to
adapt to change, differentiate, and be flexible in their approach to working
with students with disabilities.1 When teachers do not have the necessary
skills, tools, or professional development training that specifically focuses on
how to work with and teach students with disabilities, this can lead to teachers
feeling stressed, emotionally exhausted, decreased motivation to work with
these students, higher levels of absenteeism, and increased attrition rates.
1. I will explain the impact that the lack of training and current gaps in
teacher preparation programs have on pre-service teachers and how they
work with students with disabilities in inclusive settings has on preservice
teachers.
2. I will explain the impact that the lack of training for pre-service teachers to
work in inclusive settings has on students with disabilities and the quality
of their education.
PLANNING OUTLINE 3
3. Research Question: How can our educational system and teacher
preparation programs improve how they prepare pre-service teachers to
work with students with disabilities in inclusive settings?
II. Importance of the Topic: Feeling inadequately prepared can lead pre-service
teachers to lower self-efficacy, confidence, beliefs, and interest in working with
students with disabilities.
A. Pre-service teacher's self-efficacy can be negatively impacted if they do not
feel adequately trained and prepared to work with students with disabilities.
B. Pre-service teachers can develop feelings of incompetence and have lower
self-esteem in their capabilities to work with students with disabilities.
C. A lack of appropriate training, skills, and knowledge can negatively impact
how pre-service teachers work with students with disabilities in inclusive
settings.
III. Significance: The lack of appropriate training and preparation for pre-service
teachers can significantly impact their ability to work with students with
disabilities in inclusive settings
1. Differentiation – What is it, how does it work, and the benefit for all
students, not just students with disabilities.
2. Implementing accommodations and modifications – a legal obligation to
implement a student’s Individualized Education Plan (IEP).
3. Lack of appropriate instruction can cause students with disabilities not to
make meaningful progress toward their IEPs
PLANNING OUTLINE 4
IV. Impact: Many general education teachers do not feel prepared to work with
students with disabilities in inclusion settings.
A. What is the quality of instruction that students with disabilities receive from
general education teachers who do not have the skills, tools, or knowledge to
support students with disabilities in inclusive settings?
B. What barriers exist in schools and teacher preparation programs that prohibit
or hinder teachers from receiving the appropriate training and support they
need to work with students with disabilities?
C. What changes need to be made to teacher preparation programs, to support
better and prepare pre-service teachers to teach students with disabilities in
inclusive settings?
V. Biblical Worldview: The Bible includes several passages that talk about treating
others how you would want to be treated, and the Bible also discusses the
importance of teachers being a model of good work and showing integrity and
dignity in teaching others.
A. I will discuss what the Bible says about education.
B. I will discuss what the Bible says about how to treat individuals with
disabilities.
C. I will discuss what the Bible says about including everyone.
VI. Conclusion
A. I will discuss the current state of education for students with disabilities.
B. I will summarize the current gaps in current practices and preparation of
preservice teachers to teach in inclusive settings.
PLANNING OUTLINE 6
References
Ashton, J. R., & Arlington, H. (2019). My fears were irrational: Transforming conceptions of
disability in teacher education through service learning.1International Journal of Whole
Schooling,115(1), 50–81.
Al Jaffal, M. (2022). Barriers general education teachers face regarding the inclusion of students
with autism.1Frontiers in Psychology,113, 873248.
https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.873248
Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975, Public Law 94-142 (1975).
English Standard Version Bible. (2001). ESV Online. https://esv.literalword.com/
Hehir, T., Gershenson, S., Michael Hansen, D. Q., Sophie Partington, M. L., Moustafa, N., &
Ishtiaque Fazlul, C. K. (2022, March 9). DO students with disabilities receive quality
instruction in general education classrooms? Brookings.
https://www.brookings.edu/articles/do-students-with-disabilities-receive-quality-
instruction-in-general-education-classrooms/
Inclusive Schools Network. (n.d.). Inclusion basics. Retrieved from
http://inclusiveschools.org/inclusion-basics/
Ismailos, L., Gallagher, T., Bennett, S., & Li, X. (2022). Pre-service and in-service teachers’
attitudes and self-efficacy beliefs with regards to inclusive education.1International
Journal of Inclusive Education,126(2), 175–191.
https://doi.org/10.1080/13603116.2019.1642402
Mitchell, C. (2021, September 24). Most classroom teachers feel unprepared to support students
with disabilities. Education Week. https://www.edweek.org/teaching-learning/most-
classroom-teachers-feel-unprepared-to-support-students-with-disabilities/2019/05
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Rakap, S., Cig, O., & Parlak-Rakap, A. (2017). Preparing preschool teacher candidates for
inclusion: impact of two special education courses on their perspectives. Journal of
Research in Special Education Needs, 17(2), 98-109. https://doi.org/10.1111/1471-
3802.12116
Smith, V. (2021, November 9). How teacher preparation programs can help all teachers better
serve students with disabilities. Center for American Progress.
https://www.americanprogress.org/article/teacher-preparation-programs-can-help-
teachers-better-serve-students-disabilities/
Stites, M.L., Rakes, C.R., Noggle, A.K., & Shah S. (2018). Preservice teacher perceptions of
preparedness to teach in inclusive settings as an indicator of teacher preparation program
effectiveness. Discourse and Communication for Sustainable Education, 9(2), 21-29.
https://doi-org.proxy1.ncu.edu/10.2478/dcse-2018-0012
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