Validation of the Collaboration and Support for Inclusive Teaching Scale in Special Education Teachers

Abstract

This article describes the development and initial validation of the Collaboration and Support for Inclusive Teaching, a measure of perceived support in special education teachers regarding the degree of collaboration with regular teachers for inclusive practice at school. The scale was validated on a sample of 276 special education teachers coming from lower and higher secondary schools by using both exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis. The resulting 12-item scale was characterized by a one-factor solution explaining 46.59% of data variance and had good internal consistency with a Cronbach’s alpha of .876. Associations with other measures supported convergent and divergent validity of the scale. The usefulness of this scale is highlighted with regard to the improvement of cooperative teaching supporting school inclusion, as well as to the prevention of the risk of burnout in special education teachers.