Philosophical cultural-based of Indonesian Inclusive Education: Meaning and Perception of Teachers’ Candidates

This paper investigates the perception of teachers’ candidates on inclusive education and the link to local philosophy of Ki Hajar Dewantara. Utilizing semi-structured interviews with 15 teachers’ candidates participating in an inclusive education course, thematic analysis was conducted to find the pattern of their perceptions related with inclusive education. Two main themes emerged as findings; (1) Inclusive education: what teacher candidates think with sub themes: (a) education without boundaries, (b) flexible curriculum, and (c) placing students with Special Educational Needs (SEN) in the same environment; and (2) Ki Hajar Dewantara (KHD): The local philosophy with sub themes: (a) three principles of KHD, (b) ngerti, ngroso, nglakoni, (c) teachers as role model: the among system. These suggested the importance of preparing teachers’ candidates to have comprehensive and deep knowledge of inclusive education and the connection with local philosophy for supporting inclusive education practices in Indonesian context