Education For All: Approaches to Teacher Education for Inclusion

Over the last thirty years, there has been an international aspiration to make
education provision both inclusive and equitable with resultant policy production at both international and national level. Over time, the focus of this activity has moved from the specific needs of disabled students to consideration of how schools might celebrate diversity and provide effective learning for all students. Teacher education is viewed as a key factor in creating school environments where all young people have equity of access to relevant learning opportunities no matter their background or circumstances.
This paper presents six case studies from Finland, New Zealand, Lithuania, Scotland, Norway and Canada charting the changes made over time to educational provision within their national context aiming to make schools more inclusive. Each case study highlights some of the ways in which teacher education has adapted in response to these policy changes to prepare new teachers to work in inclusive school settings. Common to all case studies is the identification that further research and change is required to meet the professional learning requirements of our future teachers. In response to this identified need. Highlighting the complex nature of providing inclusive education for all, it is suggested that future teacher education must continue to explore new ways to enhance the professional expertise of teachers to be inclusive of all learners in their daily practice.