Curriculum Ideologies Reflecting Pre-Service Teachers’ Stances toward Inclusive Education

Abstract

This chapter presents the results of the study of pre-service teachers’ curriculum ideologies and what kind of belief stances about inclusive education they reflect. The chapter also provides insights into the steps the schools are taking toward inclusive school culture in Finland. The data were collected from 115 pre-service teachers in connection with two undergraduate study courses within the Primary School Teacher Education (PSTE) program. Their written reflections were interpreted through the lenses of curriculum ideology framework and inclusive education reform agenda. The findings reveal two types of tensions between pre-service teachers’ curriculum ideologies: “knowledge versus experience” and “adoption versus reconstruction.” These tensions reflect preservice teachers’ prerequisites for working in inclusive settings and ways to interpret the inclusive agenda stated by the international and national declarations. The results are discussed and suggestions are made for ways to enhance the implementation of inclusive education and develop teacher education.