The purpose of this paper was to determine the readiness of kindergarten teachers in Bulgaria in anticipation of impending inclusion-driven reforms in the education system. Data on 922 kindergarten ...teachers' attitudes towards inclusion across three dimensions (cognitive, affective, and behavioural), their concerns, and self-efficacy were analysed. Overall, teachers reported being willing to adapt their behaviour to promote inclusion in their classroom, despite not feeling particularly positively about inclusion. Inclusion-related training, which is critical for teachers to meet the demands of reforms, was a robust, positive predictor of teachers’ attitudes across all three dimensions.
•This paper examined the attitudes towards inclusion of 922 teachers in kindergartens in Bulgaria across three dimensions (cognitive, affective, behavioural), their concerns, and self-efficacy in this regard.•Teachers were most likely to hold negative affective attitudes and positive behavioural attitudes towards inclusion.•Inclusion-related training significantly predicted positive attitudes towards inclusion across cognitive, behavioural, and affective domains.•The findings accentuate the importance of continuous professional development for teachers already teaching in the system in fostering more positive attitudes towards inclusion.
The Bulgarian Government has made a commitment to inclusive early childhood education and care (ECEC) systems for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). High-quality ECEC ...settings are more inclusive and responsive to children's individual learning needs. In partnership with UNICEF, the Ministry for Education established a pilot project, 'Together from Kindergarten', to enhance quality and support early childhood settings in creating and maintaining quality conditions that support all children's right to access and participate in ECEC. As part of this project, the ECERS-3 was used as a broad measure to explore quality across 40 kindergarten settings. Evidence suggests that despite the positive attitudes of ECEC teachers towards inclusion, the quality of the kindergartens was low, with particular challenges concerning teacher-child interactions and individualised learning supports. The study offers important insights into how ECEC settings in Bulgaria can enhance quality to develop conditions that support children with SEND to participate in mainstream ECEC provision.
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