Perceptions of Preparedness of Student Teaching Towards Inclusiive Education

This paper presents the perceptions of student teachers towards their preparedness to handle inclusive educational settings. The research, done with a survey given to the students at the beginning and end of their student teaching assignments, will try to identify whether or not general education student teachers feel prepared to handle inclusion and students with special needs being in their general education classrooms. As of now, most schools of education in the United States offer either certification in general education or special education. This paper will also try to point out the strengths of having a dual certification program for prospective teachers in hopes that they will become better prepared to handle inclusion as they will receive both a general education certification and a special education certification upon completion of their degrees.