ABSTRACT
Inclusion has gained ground worldwide with the growing focus on addressing the needs of all students with diversities. The current trend of the shift of learners with disabilities from special to general education is one of the most challenging issues in the sphere of education (NCES, 2021), and teachers in inclusive classrooms are the ones most severely impacted in multifarious ways as they are the one who are in direct in charge of addressing the needs of their diverse group of students with disabilities who widely differ with respect to types, nature, and level or intensity. Teachers’ existing skills are falling short of meeting the varied range of diverse needs that demands systematic, individualized, and personalized interventions to bring out the best in each learner with diverse needs, irrespective of having a spiky profile. Every year millions of teachers are being trained through teacher education programs in their respective countries across the globe to acquire the needful skills to meet the needs of students in heterogeneous classrooms. However, there is constant debate on the effectiveness of existing teacher preparation programs as they fail to develop the necessary instructional skills to cater to students with diverse needs appropriately and there remains a lacuna. The chapter highlights the crucial role of teachers and their challenges in an inclusive classroom including future insights highlighting crucial key components of an effective teacher education program for effectively addressing the needs of people with disabilities.
