In recent decades, we have witnessed many social changes, which reflect in the shift towards inclusion in the field of education. One of the remaining dilemmas in practice are teachers’ insufficient professional skills to effectively work with a diverse population of pupils. Statistical data in Slovenia and abroad show an upward trend in the number of pupils with special educational needs attending mainstream schools, and the largest share among them represent pupils enrolled in the educational program with adapted performing and additional professional support as pupils with deficits in individual learning areas (PPPU). Many authors point out the distress of general education teachers, who often feel helpless and insufficiently trained to work in inclusive classroom settings.
In light of the teacher’s central role in the successful implementation of inclusion, paying attention to their continuous professional development and ensuring the support they need in their work is of key importance. In our master’s thesis, the integration approach was used to analyse subject teachers’ subjective assessment of their competences for various aspects of work regarding pupils with deficits in individual learning areas. Our research focused also on teachers’ perceptions on the availability of help, support and professional development for effective teaching for all pupils, also for those with special educational needs and deficits in individual learning areas. The quantitative part of the research included 66 subject teachers from mainstream primary schools of the Zasavje region; six of them were also included in the qualitative part. The analysis of the collected data provides an insight into subject teachers’ self-assessment of competencies in this particular field of work and identifications of some related factors. It also highlights the teachers’ perceptions on available support and their professional needs regarding inclusion of pupils with deficits in individual learning areas.
The results show that subject teachers work with pupils with deficits in individual learning areas on a daily basis, although they mainly feel only partially qualified for it. They believe they are sufficiently trained for teaching these pupils individually or in small groups. On the other hand, they feel inadequately equipped for teaching in a general class setting, planning an individualized program for this group of pupils and identifying their learning strengths and weaknesses. According to teachers’ opinion, the main problem when working with these pupils is the lack of time for quality teamwork and often oversized classes. They believe their qualifications are largely impacted by their own motivation, whereas they do not attribute a significant influence to external institutions, initial study programmes and internships. They assess various forms of help and support available to them to be insufficient, especially when it comes to quality teamwork and their further professional development opportunities. They clearly express a need for more practical and subject-oriented professional training. Findings of our survey linked with theoretical framework and previous research helps us to better understand the current circumstances of inclusive teaching in mainstream primary schools. It allows us to develop guidelines for further research, initiates discussion and highlights problems as well as possible solutions to assist and support subject teachers and provide opportunities for their professional development so they could work effectively in inclusive environments.
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