Preparing Primary Level Teachers for Inclusive Education in Bangladesh

DOI: https://doi.org/10.59595/ajie.06.1.4

 

 

 

Md Abu Bakor Siddik^a and Norimune Kawai^{a, b}

 

^a Graduate School for International Development and Cooperation, Hiroshima University, Japan

^b Graduate School of Education, Hiroshima University, Japan

 

(Received 19 October 2018, Final revised version received 12 November 2018)

 

The government of Bangladesh has introduced inclusive education for all government primary schools since 2010.Government primary school teachers in Bangladesh receive prerequisite programs and in-service training on inclusive education after obtaining their positions. This study aims to investigate teachers’ self-efficacy and attitudes toward inclusive education in Bangladesh. Data were collected from 43 government primary schools in the capital city of Bangladesh, Dhaka district. A total of 311 teachers responded to the survey. This study examined challenges of teacher training in Bangladesh relating to self-efficacy and attitudes toward inclusive education. The results showed that there were no significant differences in teachers’ self-efficacy and attitudes toward inclusive education between the teachers who received prerequisite or in-service training on inclusive education and those who did not. In order to reform the training system, it is recommended to create more opportunity for teachers to work with students with disabilities, collaborate with other stakeholders, and introduce teachers to new teaching materials and methods during both prerequisite and in-service training periods.

Keywords: Inclusive education, TEIP, SACIE-R, teachers’ training, Bangladesh.