Validation of the EPACODI-1 Scale: University Students’ Perceptions of Inclusive Education

Abstract

In the last fifteen years, changes have been taking place in education systems at the international and national levels that aim to achieve, in the near future, the objectives set by the UN International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (hereafter CRPD). Spain is no stranger to these objectives, as recognized in the new Organic Law for the Modification of the Law on the Organization of Education. This situation makes it necessary to know the perceptions that professionals in training (about to graduate) from faculties of education have about the legal content established by articles 4.1.i and 24 of the CRPD on inclusive education. In order to ascertain these perceptions, the EPACO-DI-1 instrument was used in a quantitative and confirmatory study by means of a multivariate factor analysis (CFA), applying the parallel estimation method of ordinary least squares (OLS) and principal axes with polychoric correlation and promax oblique rotation. This study involved 552 fourth-year students between the ages of 21 and over 45 from the specializations offered by the Faculty of Education of the University of Murcia. The obtained results are consistent and show the validity of the EPACODI-1 scale for determining the perceptions of professionals in training on inclusive education.

Access to University Studies: A New Form of Discrimination for Low-Functioning People

“…The general attitude of all students towards people with low functional performance was positive, with no significant differences being found if we distinguish between the parents' levels of studies, nor between sexes, nor if we take into account the contact that the students have had with people with low functional performance. These results imply that future teachers have favourable attitudes towards the diversity that may be found in the classroom and, therefore, if they receive adequate training, they could create an inclusive and favourable environment for the social development of their pupils as a whole [10,11].…”