School environment and mastery experience as predictors of teachers’ self-efficacy beliefs towards inclusive teaching

ABSTRACT

Teacher self-efficacy plays a key role in the successful inclusion of children with intellectual disabilities in mainstream schools. But what influences self-efficacy and how can we support its growth? Drawing on Social Cognitive Theory, the study examined teachers’ mastery experiences, perceptions of the school environment, self-efficacy and reported inclusive teaching. The sample comprised 148 primary school teachers from Scottish mainstream schools. Participants completed questionnaires measuring mastery experiences, the school environment (collective efficacy and school climate perceptions), self-efficacy and reported inclusive teaching practices. Regression analyses demonstrated that school environment (collective efficacy and school climate), and mastery experiences were important in predicting teachers’ self-efficacy. Further, self-efficacy acted as a mediator between teachers’ perceptions of the school climate and reported inclusive behaviour. This brings us closer to understanding how teacher self-efficacy is fostered and the role of the school environment. Engaging with teacher belief systems may cultivate a school climate that promotes inclusion.

KEYWORDS:

• Inclusion
• teacher self-efficacy
• mastery experience
• school climate

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Claire Wilson is a Lecturer in Psychology at the University of the West of Scotland. Her research interests lie predominantly within the field of social and educational psychology. Claire is interested in applying psychological theories most commonly applied in social psychology to educational problems. She has examined attitudinal and social cognitive predictors of behaviour, automaticity of behaviour, behaviour change interventions and have used cognitive tests to assess psychological constructs across a range of contexts including teachers' inclusive behaviours for children with disabilities, bullying in schools and parent-child interactions.

Lisa Marks Woolfson is an Emeritus Professor of Psychology at University of Strathclyde. She has over twenty years' experience as an educational psychologist, working with children and their families, specialising in work with children with developmental disabilities. Lisa is a registered practitioner with the Health and Care Professions Council, and an Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society. Her work as a specialist senior educational psychologist influenced her research interests: developmental disability, parenting, teacher beliefs about inclusion, and development and behaviour problems in pre-school children.

Kevin Durkin is an Emeritus Professor of Psychology at University of Strathclyde. He is a developmental psychologist intrigued by the question of how human beings acquire and use the vast array of knowledge and skills that emerges through childhood and beyond. Kevin is also interested in the ways in which developmental science can help us to understand and address problems in development. Most of his work focuses on communicative development, including language development and uses of media.

ORCID

Claire Wilson http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1054-4928