Comparing Pre-Service Teachers’ Attitudes toward Inclusive Education in Thailand and Japan
2020
Background: Several studies have shown that classroom teachers can strongly
influence the implementation and potential success of inclusive education (IE).
Therefore, assessing teachers/pre-service teachers’ attitudes toward IE with an
objective scale is a key issue for many academic publications. This study
compared differences in pre-service teachers’ attitudes toward IE between
Thailand and Japan and discussed these differences mainly from the perspective
of differences in their educational systems for children with disabilities. Method: This study’s survey utilized a modified version of the Attitude Toward
Inclusion Instrument. The study participants were 109 and 221 pre-service
teachers who were enrolled in teacher preparation programs in Thailand and
Japan, respectively. Result: The basic concepts and ideologies of IE
were similarly and widely accepted in both countries. However, Thai pre-service
teachers were more likely to strongly perceive that education in special
schools would have a negative impact for students with disabilities and that IE
would have a positive impact. On the other hand, Japanese pre- service
teachers had a more negative perception of the feasibility of IE compared to
Thai teachers. Discussion: We attributed this result to the difference
in the popularity and credibility of special education in the two countries. Japanese pre-service teachers held a more positive
attitude toward special education compared to their Thai counterparts.
However, this attitude may have caused Japanese pre-service teachers to become
more concerned about IE, which could be a barrier to expanding IE in Japan.
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