Initial teacher education for individual educational needs : newly qualified Maltese teachers' views

Abstract

This paper presents the findings of a qualitative study on the perceptions of teachers about their preparation for responding to students’ Individual Educational Needs (IEN) in Malta. Newly qualified teachers of students in either the early or the junior years were interviewed about inclusive education and their experiences of teaching students with IEN, and about how adequate and appropriate they found their university education in this respect. The teachers believed that all students were entitled to a quality education within an inclusive system, but they underlined the potential difficulties of putting this into practice in the classroom. They expressed lack of confidence and competence in teaching students with complex or severe disability saying they had to rely on their post initial education experience and their own resources in meeting the challenges of the classroom reality. Their task was compounded by the apparent lack of support and resources at the schools. These teachers called for more skills-based and hands-on initial education in inclusive practices as well as support in the classroom.