An Examination of Preservice Teachers’ Self-Efficacy and Beliefs About Inclusive Education

Abstract

Teachers’ self-efficacy and beliefs are important to classroom practices and student success. In this study, the authors examine preservice teachers’ self-efficacy and beliefs related to inclusive education. One hundred seventy-nine preservice teachers enrolled in secondary or elementary education programs participated in this study. Overall, participants in elementary versus secondary programs felt more responsible for students with disabilities and more efficacious with inclusive practices. At the same time, preservice teachers in the secondary program and those in their second (vs. first) year rated themselves higher on negative beliefs about inclusive education and viewed ability as more of a fixed and stable trait. Preservice teachers with a history of reading difficulty had higher teacher self-efficacy than those without this history. The factors examined in this study accounted for about a third of the variance in each of preservice teachers’ self-efficacy for inclusive instructional practices and in their negative beliefs about inclusive education. Epistemological beliefs about ability emerged as a strong predictor of preservice teachers’ negative beliefs about inclusive education. The results from this study are discussed within the context of preparing teachers for the inclusive classroom.

Pre-service Teachers’ Attitudes Toward Students With Behavioral Difficulties: Associations With Individual and Education Program Characteristics

“…There is no consensus regarding the influence of gender on PT's attitudes toward inclusion. While studies have not observed significant differences by gender (Haq and Mundia, 2012;O'Toole and Burke, 2013;Sharma and Nuttal, 2016;Metsala and Harkins, 2020), others report that the female gender is associated with more positive attitudes (Forlin et al, 2009;Ahsan et al, 2012;Specht et al, 2016;Subban and Mahlo, 2017), and only one reported that male PT holds more positive attitudes (Opoku et al, 2021).…”

Frequent Faculty Turnover: Challenge for HEIs in Urban Areas of Pakistan

“…(Jamie L. Metsala, 2019) carried out study on preservice teachers' self-efficacy and beliefs related to inclusive education, examined 179 enrolled in secondary or elementary education and discussed the results within the context of preparing teachers for the inclusive classroom. The previous studies on how organizations could retain their employees reveal that organizations face the challenge of retention good employees.…”

Examining the Mentoring Process in Collaborative Project-based Learning of Preservice Instructional Technology Teachers

“…Despite the number of inclusion students having increased rapidly over the past 20 years, researchers have argued that the inclusion approach is still not being applied in practice as it ought to be (Melekoglu et al, 2009;Moberg et al, 2020;Rakap & Kaczmarek, 2010;Zagona et al, 2017), since teachers from different disciplines do not generally possess the specific teaching skills required for the inclusive educational setting. A growing number of studies have highlighted the need for both preservice and inservice teachers to develop the necessary teaching skills for the inclusive educational setting (Andrews, 2002;Florian, 2014;Laarhoven et al, 2006;Metsala & Harkins, 2019;Moberg et al, 2020;Sharma et al, 2008;). In order to provide meaningful inclusion practices, teacher effect and high quality differentiated instruction for individuals with disabilities is considered as being amongst the factors most significant for student learning (Rockoff, 2004;Sanders et al, 1997).…”

“…In order to provide meaningful inclusion practices, teacher effect and high quality differentiated instruction for individuals with disabilities is considered as being amongst the factors most significant for student learning (Rockoff, 2004;Sanders et al, 1997). However, many general education teachers struggle to provide meaningful inclusive practices in the general education classroom (De Boer et al, 2011;Metsala & Harkins, 2019;Moberg et al, 2020). Researchers have underlined that preservice teacher programs need to consider alternative approaches in order for preservice teachers to receive the correct support, guidance, and encouragement during their teacher education programs and into their early careers (Ambrosetti & Dekkers, 2010;Hall et al, 2008;Hudson, 2013;Korhonen et al, 2017).…”

“…Researchers have underlined that preservice teacher programs need to consider alternative approaches in order for preservice teachers to receive the correct support, guidance, and encouragement during their teacher education programs and into their early careers (Ambrosetti & Dekkers, 2010;Hall et al, 2008;Hudson, 2013;Korhonen et al, 2017). In particular, taking a very limited number of courses at the undergraduate level that promote inclusive practices for general education teachers appears insufficient compared to the extensive needs of SWDs (Metsala & Harkins, 2019). One rationale discussed is that most teacher education program courses are designed on a theoretical rather than practical basis (Allen, 2011).…”