Assessing Teacher Readiness for Inclusive Education in Maldives: Instrument Modification and Validation

ABSTRACT

Teacher readiness for inclusive education is frequently investigated in literature. However, the psychometric properties of a scale to evaluate teacher readiness for inclusive education in the Asian, specifically Maldivian, context are extremely scarce. This study aimed to modify the teachers’ readiness for an inclusive education scale to determine if the modified scale was reliable and valid in the Maldives Context. A total of 628 teachers (258 males and 370 females) from seventy-seven schools participated in this study. In phase 1, the construct validity of the Maldives teachers’ readiness scale was established through exploratory factor analysis. In phase 2, the tests of dimensionality, reliability, convergent and discriminant validity was established through confirmatory factor analysis. Results supported a two-factor, 23 items scale. The scale may be utilised as a reliable and valid instrument to assess teacher readiness for inclusive education in the Maldivian context.

KEYWORDS:

• Inclusive education
• instrument validation
• Maldives
• psychometric analysis
• teacher readiness

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.