ATTITUDES, SELF-EFFICACY, AND INTENTION TO TEACH IN INCLUSIVE CLASSROOMS OF IN-SERVICE TEACHERS IN CHILE: VALIDATING SCALES

Abstract

ABSTRACT The main purpose of this study was to analyse the psychometric properties of the Chilean-Spanish version of the Attitudes towards Inclusion Scale (AIS), the Intention to Teach in Inclusive Classrooms Scale (ITICS), and the Teacher Efficacy for Inclusive Practices (TEIP) scale. The secondary objective was to establish whether the intention to teach in inclusive classrooms is influenced by attitudes and self-efficacy. Participants were 569 in-service teachers. The results indicated adequate reliability scores for the three instruments. The results of the exploratory factor analysis (EFA) of the AIS confirmed the existence of two factors. The ITICS was determined to be unidimensional. The factor structure of the TEIP scale differed substantially from that of the original scale, and two factorial solutions were determined to be the best fit for Chilean teachers. Self-efficacy for inclusive practices and attitudes towards inclusion had a positive effect on intention to implement inclusive practices. The implications of the findings for teacher education programmes are discussed.