Brazilian education legislation establishes that two kinds of teachers may work with students with disabilities: those who have short-term and long-term training. The aim of this article is to analyse the characteristics of teacher development, considering federal government programs that aim to prepare for an inclusive educational system. The results indicate that there is a large number of teachers with university degrees, mainly those that teach in specialized educational services and in special education. Nevertheless, analyses indicate that teacher development is problematic when data are compared, considering the characteristics of development programs and the schooling level of students with disabilities.
Teacher development; Special education; Students with disabilities; Educational policies.