Preparing preservice teachers for working with students with intellectual disability: evaluating the impact of supplementary fieldwork experiences

In this paper, the utility of instruments for evaluating how well preservice teachers are being prepared for teaching students with intellectual disability in inclusive classrooms are explored. This included an investigation using an instrument to assess the attitudes of first-year preservice teachers (PSTs) toward individuals with intellectual disability (n = 96) and to measure changes in PSTs' attitudes after participating in a supplementary fieldwork experience that involved tutoring young adults with intellectual disability (n = 39). Results revealed that PSTs held generally positive attitudes, particularly those who had previous experience with people with intellectual disability. Involvement in the tutoring programme contributed further to promoting productive attitudes among PSTs by decreasing levels of discomfort when interacting with people with intellectual disability, but counterintuitively tempered their endorsement of inclusion in schools. While more opportunities for PSTs to work alongside students with intellectual disability in authentic contexts are needed to prepare them for the reality of being inclusive educators, our findings suggest that the current ways these opportunities are designed and assessed need further investigation.