perceptions of elt student teachers and pre-service teachers at farhangian university towards including students with disabilities in regular efl classes

Many individuals are now being engaged with a growing concern voicing the need for learners with disabilities to have equal chance to be eligible members of the regular education and least segregated from their learner counterparts since such an inclusive education is well-documented to be effective, bringing learners some social, academic, behavioral achievements. the present study aimed to examine the attitudes and perceptions of elt student teachers and pre-service teachers at farhangian university towards inclusive education of students with disabilities. furthermore, the study established the correlation between these perceptions and gender. the research sample encompassed 200 male and female elt student teachers and pre-service teachers at farhangian university. quantitative and qualitative data were extracted from the opinions relative to integration of students with disabilities scale (antonak & larrivee, 1995) and interviews. the preliminary results revealed the participants’ neutral perceptions towards inclusion of disabled students in regular english language classrooms. from the perspective of these teachers, the greatest benefits and challenges of teaching english language to students with disabilities alongside their non-disabled peers in regular classes are thoroughly discussed. the study is concluded with some implications and recommendations for future research.