TRAINEE TEACHERS ATTITUDES TO INCLUSIVE EDUCATION FOR CHILDREN WITH DOWNS-SYNDROME

The attitudes of 231 trainee teachers towards inclusive education for children with Down's syndrome were surveyed in two UK colleges of educ ation, one in Scotland and one in Northern Ireland. While the right to educational integration for children with special educational needs w as widely endorsed, considerable reservations were expressed about its implementation in practice. Only 13% of respondents indicated that th ey would welcome the opportunity to teach in an integrated setting and 96% felt that their professional training did not prepare them to mee t this challenge. Many underestimated potential levels of achievement in children with Down's syndrome and over half wrongly associated the condition with very short life expectancy.