Paper Title
Inclusive Education in Nigerian Higher Education Institutions: How Prepared are the Faculties?

Abstract
Providing equal access to quality education to diversity of students in a classroom setting through inclusive education is being promoted by countries globally. Inclusive education is carefully designed to educate learners with diverse needs within a re-structured mainstream or inclusive classroom. This implies some adoptions and modifications in the regular classrooms in terms of administrative strategies, curriculum, learning materials, infrastructure, personnel and methods of approach in order to accommodate the special and diverse learning needs of children. The preparedness and acceptance of inclusive education varies from country to country. While countries in the Western world have gone far in the actualization of inclusive education, Nigeria as well as most African countries still struggles with the implementation and making provisions for children with special needs in mainstreamed classes. Nevertheless, some form of inclusiveness is being practiced in some Nigerian higher institutions. This study therefore surveys the preparedness of various faculties in the Nigerian higher education in terms of lecturers’ self-efficacy, attitudes and institutional support towards inclusive education. Data were collected from Faculties in a federal university in the South-east zone of Nigeria on the three major variables of interest which are at the center of the success or otherwise of inclusive education. It was observed that lecturers indicated very low self-efficacy in handling learners with physical and academic special needs in a mainstreamed class. However, majority of faculty members have positive attitude towards inclusive education but institutions are yet to provide the necessary support needed to make inclusive education in Nigeria a success. This implies that Nigerian institutions of higher learning are yet to properly implement inclusive education albeit numerous academic conferences and workshops to that effect. Keywords - Inclusive education, Diverse needs, Preparedness, Self-efficacy, Attitudes, Institutional support.