An Inclusive Education Teacher-Training Program in a Peripheral City in Israel

Inclusive education offers accessibility to school settings for all children, regardless of background or disability. This retrospective mixed-methods study examined the attitudes of teacher candidates regarding inclusive education, after participating in a unique year-long program on this topic. The study included 42 teacher candidates and 38 mentor teachers from two elementary schools in southern Israel. The study also examined whether candidates would recommend the program, and the program’s impact regarding the teacher candidates and their mentors’ sense of self-efficacy. The findings show that 71% of candidates reported that the main advantage of the program was instilling values of acceptance and tolerance; 71% also stated that its main disadvantage was excessive workload. When examining recommendations for future implementation, 60% of the variance was predicted by “The inclusive education program has enhanced my ability to effectively manage a classroom in the future.” Finally, the mentors’ sense of self-efficacy was significantly higher than the candidates.