Impact of psychological factors, university environment and sustainable behaviour on teachers' intention to incorporate inclusive education in higher education

Abstract

PurposeThe current study examines the impact of various psychological factors, university environment and sustainable behaviour on teachers' intention to incorporate inclusive education in higher education.Design/methodology/approachA cross-sectional survey was conducted to collect data from 204 academicians and scholars from India. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was employed to examine data.FindingsResults revealed that teachers' attitudes, university environment and spirituality had a positive and significant association with intention to incorporate inclusive education. Path analysis showed that teachers' attitude was the most prominent predictor of intention to incorporate inclusive education, followed by spirituality and university environment.Practical implicationsThe study determines the key predictors of teachers' intention to incorporate inclusive education. The identified factors can help the government and public policymakers foster inclusive education. The study determines that teachers have the capability to drive inclusive education through intrinsic spiritual views and feelings of satisfaction and happiness. Marketers must capitalize on the spiritual aspect of individuals and accordingly develop long-term inclusive strategies.Originality/valueThe current study addresses prevailing gaps in existing literature on teachers' attitude and intention to adopt inclusive education. The study examines the impact of key predictors of teachers' intention to adopt inclusive education and focuses on emerging factors such as university environment, spirituality, teachers' self-efficacy, concern and sustainable behaviour.

Holistic design of online degree programmes in higher education – a case study from Finland

“…A study by Bodhi et al (2021) supports previous research that shows the importance of university environment and teachers' attitudes to inclusive education but found that also spirituality was an important factor. They suggest organisations communicate their behavioural patterns and indicate they are part of the larger society (Bodhi et al, 2021).…”

“…A study by Bodhi et al (2021) supports previous research that shows the importance of university environment and teachers' attitudes to inclusive education but found that also spirituality was an important factor. They suggest organisations communicate their behavioural patterns and indicate they are part of the larger society (Bodhi et al, 2021). A holistic perspective in the alignment of programme design to wider institutional practices is needed to achieve quality outcomes of ODPs as an integral part of the surrounding society.…”

“…In this study, the pedagogical strategy encompasses the programme and beyond the organisation to the working life, taking into consideration the needs of society (Konst and Kairisto-Mertanen, 2020). An interesting connection can also be made between the aim for a better life and sustainability in innovation pedagogy (Konst and Kairisto-Mertanen, 2020) and the demand for spirituality in terms of well-being and harmony amongst people and nature in inclusive education (Bodhi et al, 2021).…”

Editorial: Inclusive higher education in cross-cultural settings

“…Bodhi et al . (2022), in the article “Impact of psychological factors, university environment and sustainable behaviour on teachers' intention to incorporate inclusive education in higher education”, conducted a cross-sectional study on a sample of Indian academicians and scholars and explored the factors affecting teacher's intention towards inclusive higher education.…”

Additional Skills Acquisition Programme (ASAP) project: the case of an employability enhancement initiative in India

“…Furthermore, one-fifth of the population is under 21, with around 7,700,000 (77 lakh) students enrolled in higher education. Therefore, equipping students with skills to enhance their employability needs special attention to benefit from this rich and diverse human resource, which is a significant source of employees for knowledge-based work across developed nations (Bodhi et al , 2021; Shahrill et al , 2021). As stated by Gupta and Prasad (2021, online), “with 10 to 12 million youth entering the workforce every year, India should not only train and skill them for the domestic economy but for the world.”…”