Preschool teachers’ attitudes towards inclusion: a comparison study between China and Germany

Abstract

Using a comparative approach is a widespread method in educational research. Previous cross-cultural comparison studies on teachers’ attitudes towards inclusive education show a strong lack of focus on preschool teachers’ attitudes towards inclusion. Thus, this study examined 65 Chinese and 59 German preschool teachers’ attitudes towards inclusion by applying the Multidimensional Attitudes towards Preschool Inclusive Education Scale (MATPIES). A comparative analysis showed Chinese and German teachers’ overall attitudes towards inclusive education as positive, with German teachers’ attitudes being more positive. While teachers in both countries showed the highest behavioural attitude dimension scores, Chinese teachers’ affective attitude dimension scored the lowest. Guided by the 'cultural–historical framework', we discussed how individualistic and collectivistic values influence teachers’ overall attitudes in the two countries, especially their different scores in affective dimension of attitude. Implications for future research examining preschool teachers’ attitudes in China and Germany as well as in the international context are discussed, with an emphasis on exploring how various factors both within and beyond teacher attributes to generate a more comprehensive understanding of the critical issue of teachers’ attitude. Meanwhile, further indications for conducting international comparison studies on teachers’ attitudes are also presented, including some methodological considerations for such studies.