Measuring social support perceived by inclusive education teachers in China

ABSTRACT

Social support perceived by inclusive education teachers is seldom empirically investigated, and there are few tools to measure it. This research aims to develop a valid instrument to investigate inclusive education teachers’ social support and to determine the current situation of such support in China. A total of 216 and 367 valid questionnaires from teachers in elementary and junior high inclusive education schools were collected in study 1 and study 2, respectively. The findings indicated that (1) Chinese inclusive education teachers’ social support was represented by a four-factor model with high reliability and validity that included professional, emotional, administrative and material support; (2) teachers received mostly emotional support, followed by administrative support, material support, and then professional support; and (3) demographic variables such as age, length of service, academic qualification, training time, and establishment of a school resource room had significant influences on teachers’ perceived social support. The study contributes to developing a conceptual framework and measurement instrument for Chinese inclusive education teachers’ social support. It provides practical implications for the improvement of current Chinese teacher education programmes and the development of high-quality inclusive education.

KEYWORDS:

• Social support
• inclusive education
• inclusive education teachers
• Measurement

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This research was supported by “Key Project of 2016 for the 13th Five-years Plan of National Social Science Fund, Ministry of Education of Peoples’ Republic of China” [grant number: AHA160010].

Notes on contributors

Zhengli Xie

Ms Zhengli Xie is currently a Ph.D. candidate of Faculty of Education, The University of Hong Kong, and her research interests include: Inclusive education, teacher education for special education, and education for children with developmental disabilities.

Meng Deng

Professor Meng Deng, the corresponding author, is now a full professor at Institute of Special Education, and director of Research Centre for Inclusive Education of Faculty of Education, Beijing Normal University. He is also the Chair for the Association of National Inclusive Education of People's Republic of China. His research interests are: Inclusive education, curriculum and instructional adaptations for children with special educational needs, and education for visual impairment.

Ying Ma

Dr. Ying Ma is now an assistant professor of special education of Shanxi Normal University, and her research interests are: Inclusive education, education for visual impairment, and psychological counseling for children with special educational needs.