The Assessment of the Competences of Students at the Department of Teacher Education Studies and of the Teachers for Inclusive Practice

Sa？etak The aim of this study was to identify the differences in the opinions of students from the Department of Teacher Education Studies and the teachers in regular primary schools on the acquired competences for inclusive education. The study is based on their personal assessment of the degree of qualifications for the application of certain components of inclusive education of students with disabilities. The study included 212 third-year students and 127 fifth-year students from the Department of Teacher Education Studies and 151 teachers from regular primary schools. The scale of assessment of competences for inclusive education encompassed assessment components of their own abilities to identify the students with disabilities and their knowledge of the specifics of their individual problems, the knowledge of didactic and methodological approaches, the skill to provide the necessary individualized support, the knowledge of communication skills in partnership with parents and the readiness for teamwork and collaboration with other staff members in school. The analysis has shown that the students are more willing to initiate processes for providing the necessary support in accordance with the legal provisions, as well as to initiate activities for the affirmation of the students' rights placing an emphasis on the importance of teamwork, while the teachers are more competent in communication with parents and counselling and also in joint cooperation with other experts. The results also reveal a greater competence of the teachers and the third-year students in lesson planning and design of specific teaching material and individualized educational programmes, while the fifth-year students, along with the teachers, are considered to be better qualified to apply a higher level of ethics and professionalism and for work with parents