Localising Inclusion: Pre-Service Teachers' Attitudes and Conceptualisations in Germany and Russia

European Journal of Education. 2026. Vol. 61. No. 3. Article e70810.

Iskakova B., Kleinlein E. V., Prisyazhniuk D., Yusupova E.

This study examines pre-service teachers' (PSTs) attitudes towards inclusive education in Germany and Russia and investigates how they relate to teacher training curricula and teacher educators' discourse. A mixed-methods design was used, including an online survey of PSTs (n = 460) with an open-ended question, curriculum review and exploratory interviews with university educators in both contexts. The two samples showed non-equivalent attitudinal structures: the three-factor structure supported in Germany did not replicate in Russia. Analysis of open-ended responses demonstrated that German PSTs predominantly expressed a general individualised understanding of inclusion, while Russian PSTs tended to follow placement- and disability-orientated definitions of inclusion. The findings suggest that inclusion is not interpreted uniformly across contexts but relates to national policy legacies, curricular traditions and teacher education discourses. Teacher education institutions should support PSTs in critically analysing both local and global definitions of inclusion and their implications for their future school practice.

Keywords: Russia, Germany, attitudes, pre-service teachers, inclusive education, teacher education, glocalisation

Publication based on the results of: Adaptation of children with special educational needs in school environment: risk factors, predictors, family and school strategies (2024)