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Initial teacher education 2024: why inclusion matters?
Linda D. Loving
School of Education, Liberty University
Summary/Analysis/Personal Response
Researchers throughout agree that teacher education has changed significantly over 5
decades or more. However, one might say that the more education changes, the more some
of the issues and trends remain the same. This is evident in this article, especially in Canada
and around the globe. This article starts off explaining how teacher education in Canada
.evolved
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Blandford (2024), described the gradual rise of professionalisation as teacher preparation moved
from normal schools and teachers’ colleges to universities. He further discussed the struggles for
control of teacher education and how these have played out differently in various provinces and
territories (Blandford, 2024).
In the next part of this article, we discover those who influenced teacher education
policies and programmes in Canada; these included government agencies, royal commissions,
colleges of teachers, and teachers’ federations (Blandford, 2024). It is no secret that teacher
education programs are struggling to keep up with the demands of providing a quality education
for the students not only in Canada but also all over this nation, especially since the Covid- 19
pandemic. Allen et al., 2023, stated that the impact of a lack of teachers in schools in England is
summarised by Teacher Tapp. Emphasis is further placed on “inclusive practice”.
Blandford (2024) explained a third focus of this article was on internal influences that are
both university and school-based and examines some of the points of tension between them
including programme content, the balance between theory and practice, and the practicum. To
break down the Common Principles for Teaching, as mentioned previously in the first paragraph
of this paper, I have to include how the researchers agreed that all teachers must be graduates of
colleges and/or universities in the fields for which they are employed, having adequate
knowledge of their educational fields. Additionally, these educators must be life-long learners;
they must continue to explore new and current knowledge to stay current with the educational
trends. Doing so will improve the education of those left in their car in the classrooms.
Another notable point from this article was the point of teachers/educators being mobile;
teachers must be willing to study and work in various countries. Students around the world need
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trained and willing educators who don’t mind learning new languages and cultures, making it
easy to include all peoples.
This article revealed a lot of information that teacher training programs across the globe
need to revisit. Quality teacher training is the first line of defense when providing quality
education for learners of all nations and tongues. Researchers maintained that educators must
teach and educate all students, regardless of their sexual orientations, religions, race, creed, etc. I
never looked at inclusion like the researcher presented in this article. According to the author,
inclusion is a term that infers that we all must have equal access to opportunities or resources.
“Inclusion is much more than just placement of a pupil in a class. When a pupil is “included”, the
pupil attends regular classroom; participates in all activities offered to other pupils; is accepted
by the rest of the school community; achieves in all learning domains; has a strong sense of
belongingness; and feels happy to be part of the school community(Blandford, 2019).
The author further explained that, “In inclusive schools, educators invest heavily in
systematically identifying barriers that a pupil may face to fully participate in schooling activities
and work collectively to address the barriers. Put simply, “we are included”, whether that be
through participation or observation, we have the chance or choice (Blandford, 2019) to be equal
to others. Inclusive schools care about the voices of all pupils but more specifically about the
voices of those pupils who could be frequently excluded because of their diversity and
differences. These schools care about listening to parents’ voices and change schooling practices
to ensure that all pupils are fully included.
Sadly, not all schools are providing the love, care, and respect needed to make school a
safe place to learn. It takes a loving heart and humble spirit to look beyond the faults of others,
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to genuinely provide a service that will change the lives of impressionable learners. We owe it
and they deserve to have the “best”!
References
Blandford, S. (2024). Initial teacher education 2024: why inclusion matters? Deleted Journal,
1(1), 129–141. https://doi.org/10.1108/qea-01-2024-0011
