Disability Awareness in Teacher Education in Singapore

Abstract

As the sole teacher education body in Singapore, the National Institute of Education (NIE), plays a pivotal role in equipping Singaporean teachers with the knowledge and skills to work with and support students with disabilities for both mainstream and special schools through its teacher education programs. In addition to the learning of strategies and skills to work with students with disabilities, it is also imperative for teacher education to promote positive attitudinal change among teachers towards persons with disabilities. This chapter describes the disability-awareness approach adopted by the NIE for its preservice teachers and the rationale behind adopting such an approach to foster inclusive attitudes that is grounded within relevant literature and situates disability within Singapore's socio-historical context.