Teacher attitudes towards inclusive education in Finland and Brandenburg, Germany and the issue of extra work

Positive teacher attitudes are considered an important prerequisite for the successful inclusion of students with special educational needs in the mainstream classrooms. This study surveyed teacher opinions about inclusion in Finland (N = 298) and Brandenburg, Germany (N = 163), two educational systems in which the number of students transferred to segregated special education is exceptionally high in international comparison. For the measurement of attitudes, a 10-item scale, teachers’ attitudes towards inclusive education, was used. The results showed that Finnish teachers were more positive towards inclusion than Brandenburg teachers (d = 0.46). The Brandenburg teachers were especially w…