Interventions for the Initial Education of Secondary School Teachers for Inclusive Education. A scoping review of the literature

Abstract

This dissertation examines the current landscape of interventions in initial teacher education programs aimed at preparing secondary school teachers for inclusive education. Utilizing a scoping review methodology, it systematically explores literature published after the General Comment No. 4 on the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2006). The screening and reviewing processes identified seven relevant studies, conducted in the United States (n=4), Spain (n=2), and Australia (n=1), which focused on linguistic (n=3), sex-gender (n=2), or cultural diversity (n=2) and employed diverse methodologies ranging from reflective practices to immersive cultural simulations. Findings suggest that while these interventions increase pre-service teachers' awareness and sensitivity to particular aspects of diversity, they often remain limited in scale and scope. The discussion pointed to the fact that the studies reflect the global trend to adopt a broader understanding of inclusion in education but at the same time fail to move beyond understanding inclusion as a response to marginalized groups and beyond adopting a specified individualized definition. Thus, the studies reviewed also fail to provide evidence for the further development of ITE for inclusive education based on a broad understanding of inclusion, which points to the urgency of investing more research into the matter in order to better prepare teachers for diverse settings.