A Contact Intervention in University Teacher Training: Lasting Impacts on Beliefs and Inclusive Instruction?

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Abstract

Based on the interpersonal contact hypothesis, this study examined the impact of a contact intervention on pre-service teachers' beliefs about inclusive education and their inclusive instruction. Data were collected in a controlled pre-post-follow-up design with a comparison group. The sample consisted of N = 356 pre-service teachers in higher education, with the intervention condition receiving one seminar session with qualified people with disabilities. A questionnaire assessed pre-service teachers’ attitudes, modern prejudices, self-efficacy, and, in a 4-months follow-up measurement, their inclusive teaching practices. Structural equation modelling indicated a positive short-term effect of the contact intervention on pre-service teachers' beliefs about inclusive education. However, there was no evidence for the long-term stability of this effect and the improvement of inclusive instruction.

Authors

• Mia Hoffmann, Kiel University

• Sonja Krämer, Kiel University

• Friederike Zimmermann, Kiel University