OPINIONS OF FUTURE TEACHERS ON COMPETENCIES FOR WORKING WITH STUDENTS WITH DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES

A significant number of children in relation to educational institutions in the European Union, subjected to inappropriate and discriminatory position, represent the basis of the document Union of Equality: Strategy for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities 2021-2030 (COM, 2021). At the same time, the social model of inclusion in education (Slee et al., 2019 ; Sunko, 2021) and articles 2 and 23 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) advocating equal rights of all children to education, indicate the dichotomy of desired and achieved. Each individual, whether he/she has certain difficulties or not, differs in his/her abilities, and each of them has their “personal needs”. It is important to note that students with special educational needs are students with disabilities and gifted students. Meeting the diverse needs of students through inclusive practices is often difficult or even impossible for those teachers who have not acquired the necessary skills and knowledge, so it is imperative to empower and support teachers primarily through formal education so that teachers learn to use effective inclusive teaching methods at all levels (Loveys, 2022). The aim of this research was to determine whether personal experience and student’s attended academic year of the teacher study (N = 304, all academic years) from three Teachers’ Faculties in the Republic of Croatia, correlate with their sense of personal competence, motivation for further professional development, or the need to change the study program. The results of this research show that students’ personal experiences with children with developmental disabilities (DD) affect the sense of their personal competence for working with children with DD, and that students of all attended academic years are equally motivated to teach children with DD. They also point out the need for additional training, and 84.64% of them emphasize the importance of practice in learning that deals with teaching children with DD. Data suggest that the same percentage of students feel the need to change/adapt the content of the study program accordingly. The main feature and implication of this research is the insight into the development of future teachers’ needs for further higher education for teaching children with DD.