Abstract
Inclusive education policy, now the norm in many parts of the world including Iceland, is highly dependent on teachers for its successful implementation. Research on inclusion often attempts to identify teachers’ attitudes of inclusion (against/for). This article takes a different approach. It focuses on teachers’ perspectives of their professional practices; that is, how teachers understand what it means to be and practise as a teacher. We interviewed 10 Icelandic compulsory school teachers and also examined teaching logs and associated documents. The findings suggest that the teachers participating in this study have conflicting expectations towards their professional practice. They have unclear ideas about the inclusive ideology, and external factors influence teachers’ perception of their professional practice more than reflective practices. We suggest that these findings may well be applicable beyond the Icelandic context, and that they have implications for the overall in-service and pre-service education offered to teachers.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 491-504 |
| Number of pages | 14 |
| Journal | European Journal of Special Needs Education |
| Volume | 29 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2 Oct 2014 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:Hermína Gunnþórsdóttir thanks the Icelandic Research Fund (RANNÍS) and University of Akureyri Research Fund for supporting this research. We also thank Hermína’s critical writing group for a thorough reading of some of the final drafts; Julie Allan and Ingólfur Ásgeir Jóhannesson for reading drafts at various stages of writing the article; Rafn Kjartansson for the translation of the citations and proofreading; and finally, the interviewees, as well as the anonymous referees for their critical and supportive comments.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2014 Taylor & Francis.
Other keywords
- inclusive education
- teachers’ perspectives
- teachers’ professional practices