Examining primary teachers’ views on teacher education for teaching students with disabilities in inclusive classrooms in Bangladesh

The purpose of present study was to examine primary school teachers’ views on teacher education for teaching students with disabilities in inclusive classrooms in some selected primary schools of southern Bangladesh. This paper reviewed the current situation of education of students with disabilities in mainstream education setting in the country. A number of 142 in-service teachers from 56 mainstream schools in four southern districts participated in this study. Semi-structured interview and focus group discussion were conducted for data collection. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and general inductive analysis to synthesize into some key themes that are associated with present teacher education program. The major findings of the study revealed that inadequate training of teachers, insufficient resource support, shortage of trainers in training institutes, large class size in training hall, lack of trainers’ and trainees’ motivation are the main impediments to be competent for teaching in inclusive classroom in Bangladesh. This study should be significant for future curriculum development process of primary teacher education for successful inclusive education.