STUDENT TEACHER’S PERSPECTIVE ON INCLUSIVE EDUCATION IN DIGITAL DISRUPTION ERA, CASE STUDIES IN SOME RAJABHAT UNIVERSITY IN BANGKOK

Abstract

This qualitative research aimed to investigate student teacher’s perspective on inclusive education in the digital disruption era and their self-efficacy towards science learning management in an inclusive classroom. The research methodology was a qualitative case study of Rajabhat University in Bangkok, Thailand, and participants were 51 student teachers studying for the Bachelor of Education in General Science program. The research instruments included open-ended questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. Then, the data were analyzed by content analysis and examined for credibility by method triangulation and peer debriefing. The findings revealed that the student teachers hold six issues about inclusive education in schools, as follows: 1) inclusive education expresses equitable education in science; 2) the diversity of learners’ abilities made classroom management difficult; 3) digital technology was an important factor for learning activation; 4) this perhaps brought educational and social inequality; 5) a disabled learner might become a victim of cybercrime in a classroom; 6) the special needs should have specialized classrooms for them. In addition, the student teacher viewed themselves as a teacher with competencies in learning management for the inclusive classroom at a moderate level and needed more support from teachers and parents about caring for students with special needs.