Applying the theory of planned behaviour in assessments of teachers’ intentions towards practicing inclusive education: a scoping review

ABSTRACT

The theory of planned behaviour (TPB) captures important individual beliefs (attitudes, subjective norms and perceived behaviour control), which influence people’s intentions towards performing a given behaviour. Due to the successful application of TPB to a number of areas of human activity, it has been adopted as a framework in a number of studies assessing teachers’ intentions towards implementing inclusive education. However, little work has been done to synthesise these studies. In this study, we reviewed published studies on inclusive education (2007 to 2019), which used the TPB as a framework to understand reporting trends and identify research gaps. We followed the guidelines for the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA). Five keywords were used to search for studies in nine databases, which resulted in the identification of 604 papers, of which 22 satisfied the pre-set inclusion and quality assessment criteria. Although the findings from some studies confirm the ability of TPB to predict teachers’ intentions, the link between the predictors and actual behaviour was unclear. Moreover, there was divergence between the findings of the qualitative and quantitative studies. Limitations, recommendations for future studies and implications for inclusive practice are discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• Inclusive education
• theory of planned behaviour
• teachers
• intentions
• behaviour
• scoping review

Disclosure statement

The authors had no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Funding

The authors did not receive any funding for this study.

Notes on contributors

Maxwell Peprah Opoku

Maxwell Peprah Opoku was undertaking his PhD and working as casual tutor with the School of Education, University of Tasmania at the time of writing. He had his first degree in Political Science and masters in Disability, Rehabilitation and Development, from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology. He was appointed as Graduate Teaching Assistant at the Centre for Disability Studies, Department of Community Health while pursuing his master’s degree. Subsequently, he continued to study a second master’s degree in Governance and Regional Integration at Pan African University. His research interests are disability research, special education, community-based rehabilitation, inclusive education, disability and behaviour management, health research, management of natural resources, human rights, social policies and public policy.

Monica Cuskelly

Professor Monica Cuskelly is the Associate Head Research for the School of Education, University of Tasmania. She has research interests in the psycho-social functioning of individuals with intellectual disability, family functioning in families with a child with a disability, and self-regulation andmastery motivation in vulnerable groups.

Scott J. Pedersen

Dr Scott J. Pedersen is the Director of the Active Work Laboratory at the University of Tasmania (UTAS) in Australia. He obtained his PhD in Human Performance from Indiana University specialising in the motor control of individuals with developmental disabilities. Dr Pedersen has also held teaching and research appointments at Peking University (CHN), Beijing Normal University (CHN), and New Mexico State University (USA). Work emanating from Dr Pedersen’s lab includes the research and development of an e-health solution, called Exertime, designed to passively prompt desk-based workers to interrupt prolonged bouts of sitting by increasing incidental movement opportunities throughout the workday. Currently, Dr Pedersen serves as a co-director for the Better Health Research Theme at UTAS where his expertise in healthy behaviour change is utilised across several cross-disciplinary research projects.

Christopher S. Rayner

Dr Christopher S. Rayner was appointed as Lecturer in Inclusive Education in December 2010. After teaching and researching in the field of inclusive education for eight years, Chris took on the role of Academic Director of Professional Experience in December 2018. Chris’ interests relate to teacher education, pre-service teachers’ school placements, and mentoring. He also maintains a research focus on the ways educators and educational communities promote access, participation, and achievement for all students and cater for student diversity and exceptionality, particularly students with autism.