This study investigates how attitudes toward inclusion and inclusion-related self-efficacy
of teachers working in inclusive schools may influence the well-being of students. Teachers and students ...from 26 schools participated in the study, completing an online survey (teachers) and pen-and-paper questionnaires (students, teachers). Cross-sectional analyses showed positive effects of attitude on the well-being in students. Longitudinal analyses showed no predictive validity of attitude when controlling for previous well-being. Testing the potential interaction between attitude and self-efficacy revealed significant moderating effects on the prediction of well-being. Findings indicate that positive attitudes toward inclusion may be beneficial for students’ well-being.
Inclusive physical activity games at school can be useful for teachers dealing with students with disabilities. The use of inclusive strategies and games can be directly linked to teachers' ...self-efficacy and familiarity with the inclusive strategies, while it could be indirectly influenced by their attitude toward inclusion and, in a smaller part, by social desirability in their response. Moreover, teachers' responses could be different among the different school grades. Therefore, the aim of the current study is to investigate the role of attitude toward inclusion, social desirability, self-efficacy, and familiarity in the use of physical activity games at school in teachers from all school grades.
A sample of 1,583 schoolteachers was asked to fill out a questionnaire about their perceptions of governmental measures, self-efficacy, familiarity with inclusive strategies through physical activity, and two standardized questionnaires assessing attitudes toward inclusion and social desirability.
Teachers from primary school reported lower scores in attitude toward inclusion total score and dimensions, namely impact on teacher, impact on the environment, impact on the other children, and impact on the student with disability. Moreover, the path analysis model showed that the attitude toward inclusion indirectly influenced the use of inclusive strategy and had a small direct effect on familiarity with inclusive strategies and self-efficacy. Social desirability slightly influenced both familiarity and self-efficacy but not the use of inclusive strategies. Familiarity and self-efficacy had a direct effect on the use of inclusive physical activity games.
The results of the current study suggest that being familiar with and having a high self-efficacy in implementing inclusive strategies are well related to the use of inclusive strategies at school. In addition, more attention should be given to kindergarten and primary school teachers, who reported lower scores in the attitude toward inclusion and higher scores in social desirability.
The prosperity of inclusion of students with disabilities largely rest on the attitudes of mainstream teachers. Few studies explore the relationship among school climate, teachers' attitude on ...inclusion and teachers' efficacy in China. This study surveyed 266 general teachers in China to understand the role of teachers' efficacy on inclusive education between school climate and teachers' attitude. The results indicated that teachers hold positive attitudes towards inclusion on average, especially in the dimension of affection. Additionally, school climate, teachers' efficacy and teachers' attitude were significantly associated, and the mediating effect of teachers' efficacy between school climate and teachers' attitude were proved by mediation analyses. The findings suggested that creating more inclusive school climate and improving general teachers' knowledge and skills on inclusive education, especially the skills on collaboration with others, which could contribute to promote more positive attitude on inclusive education of general teachers.
The inclusion of children with special educational needs is a major challenge. Amongst the factors linked to a successful inclusive education policy, teachers' attitude toward inclusion is ...particularly important. The present paper seeks to understand why general teachers exhibit less favourable attitude toward inclusion than special education teachers. We argue that general teachers' low sense of efficacy can act as a mediator. To investigate this hypothesis, general and special education teachers were asked to report their attitude and efficacy. Results confirm that general teachers have less positive attitude toward inclusion than special education teachers. In addition, a mediational analysis confirmed that this discrepancy is partly sustained by general teachers' lower sense of efficacy. Limits as well as future perspective are discussed.
Odgojitelji su glavni akteri u provođenju uspješne i kvalitetne inkluzije. Stoga je važno provjeriti spremnost odgojitelja za rad u inkluzivnim skupinama i druge važne čimbenicke koji na tu spremnost ...utječu kako bi se dobio uvid u provođenju inkluzivne prakse u ranom i predškolskom odgoju i obrazovanju. Vodeći se time, postavljeni su sljedeći ciljevi u ovom istraživanju. Prvi cilj bio je utvrditi razlikuju li se odgojiteljice u stavovima prema inkluziji i samoprocjenjenoj kompetentnosti za rad s djecom s teškoćama s obzirom na neke njihove karakteristike (dob, prethodno radno iskustvo s djecom s teškoćama, osobno iskustvo s bliskom osobom s teškoćama, sudjelovanje na stručnom usavršavanju za rad s djecom s teškoćama), a drugi, ispitati kakav je odnos između navedenih dimenzija i emocionalne kompetentnosti. U istraživanju je sudjelovalo 189 odgojiteljica iz Dječjeg vrtića Osijek. U svrhu procjene stava prema odgojnoobrazovnom uključivanju koristila se Skala spremnosti odgojitelja za rad u inkluzivnim skupinama (Skočić-Mihić, 2011), a za procjenu emocionalne kompetentnosti korišten je Upitnik emocionalne kompetentnosti (Takšić, 2002). Rezultati su pokazali da odgojiteljice imaju neutralne do blago pozitivne stavove prema inkluziji te da su neodlučne po pitanju samoprocjenjene kompetentnosti za rad s djecom s teškoćama. Osim toga, pokazalo se da mlađe odgojiteljice i one koje su imale prethodno radno iskustvo u redovnim skupinama imaju povoljnije stavove prema inkluziji i optimističniju procjenu vlastite kompetentnosti, u odnosu na starije odgojiteljice i one koje nisu imale prethodna iskustva u radu s djecom s teškoćama. Međutim, one koje su imale prethodno iskustvo u posebnim skupinama imale su negativnije stavove u odnosu na one koje nisu imale isto iskustvo. Odgojiteljice koje su imale osobno iskustvo s bliskom osobom s teškoćama također su se procjenjivale kompetentnijima za rad u inkluzivnim skupinama u odnosu na odgojiteljice koje nisu imale takvo iskustvo. Razlike na ostalim faktorima se nisu pronašle.
Preschool teachers play a pivotal role in the successful implementation of inclusive education. Therefore, it is essential to assess the readiness of preschool teachers to work in inclusive groups and other critical factors that influence this readiness to gain insight into the implementation of inclusive practices in early and preschool education. Guided by this, the following goals were established in this research. The first goal was to determine whether preschool teachers differ in their attitudes towards inclusion and their self-assessed competence for working with children with disabilities concerning certain characteristics (age, prior work experience with children with disabilities, personal experience with a close person with disabilities, participation in professional training for working with children with disabilities). The second goal was to examine the relationship between the mentioned dimensions and emotional competence. A total of 189 preschool teachers from one preschool institution in Osijek (Dječji vrtić Osijek) participated in the research. Data were collected using the Scale of willingness to work in inclusive groups (Skočić-Mihić,2011), and the Emotional Competence Questionnaire (Takšić, 2002). The results showed that preschool teachers have neutral to slightly positive attitudes towards inclusion and that they are undecided about their self-assessed competence to work with children with disabilities. Additionally, the results showed that younger preschool teachers and those with previous work experience in regular groups have more positive attitudes towards inclusion and an optimistic assessment of their own competence compared to older preschool teachers and those who had no prior experience working with children with disabilities. However, those who had previous experience in special groups exhibited more negative attitudes compared to those who did not have the same experience. Preschool teachers who had personal experience with a close person with disabilities were also self-assessed as more competent to work in inclusive groups compared to preschool teachers who did not have such experience. No differences were found regarding other factors.
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