Attitudes and self-efficacy of teachers towards inclusion in higher education

ABSTRACT

A lot of legislative changes have taken place on inclusive education. This had consequences at all educational levels (primary, secondary and higher education (HE)). In the context of these changes, there was a need for more research focused on attitudes towards inclusion and the preparation of pre-service teachers for inclusive education. Recent research explores the process towards inclusion by investigating underlying support factors and barriers. However, this is little researched in HE and there is a lack of research investigating the relation between teachers’ attitudes, self-efficacy and behaviour. This study explores this relation, using the theory of planned behaviour. Seventy-five teachers from 19 different institutions of HE participated in this study. The Teacher self-efficacy for Inclusive Practice (TEIP) and Sentiments, Attitudes, Concerns regarding Inclusive Education-Revised (SACIE-R) scales were used in combination with a self-constructed additional questionnaire. Findings show a moderately positive attitude, a moderate level of teaching self-efficacy and show an adequate model fit, however, not all the paths were significant. Our results suggest that policy reforms should focus on more people with disabilities as role models and staff in HE as well as more practical experience for teachers in training with children/students with a disability.

Abbreviation: HE: Higher Education; SWD: Students with a disability; TPB: Theory of planned behaviour

KEYWORDS:

• Attitudes
• higher education
• inclusion
• self-efficacy

Acknowledgments

This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. Students with disabilities are students with long-term physical, mental or sensory impairments who can prevent them from participating fully and effectively in higher education (“Codex Higher Education” n.d.). The prevalence of SWDs in Flanders is around 10% but actual figures cannot be shown given the voluntary disclosure.