ABSTRACT
As more primary and secondary students with exceptional learning needs are included in general-education classrooms, general-education and special-education teacher candidates must be prepared to collaborate in order to ensure the success of all the students. The purpose of this chapter is to propose the best practices in preparing general-education and special-education teacher candidates for teaching in inclusive environments. Current obstacles to integrating the content and candidates in teacherpreparation programs, as well as solutions and opportunities for creating inclusive experiences are evaluated. The best practices proposed include combining content and candidates, integrating the coursework, creating opportunities for collaboration among teacher candidates, and infusing inclusive and collaborative philosophies into teacher-preparation course work.
