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Preservice teachers’ attitudes toward the school inclusion of students with emotional and behavioral difficulties.

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Abstract

Introduction Attitudes about inclusive education is influenced by the type of disability presented by students. Preservice teachers (PT), as for teachers in service, hold more negative attitudes towards the inclusion of students with emotional and behavioral difficulties (EBD) compared to those with learning difficulties (Cook, Cameron & Tankersley, 2007; Haq & Mundia, 2012; Markova, Pit-Ten Cate, Krolak-Schwerdt & Glock, 2016). As numerous studies closely relate attitudes of teachers to their behavior and, moreover, their intervention choice, attitudes can be useful in predicting behavior of PT (MacFarlane & Woolfson, 2013). The aim of this study is to get a more thorough comprehension of attitudes maintained by toward students with EBD by PT. Methods Participants were 1475 PT enrolled in a regular or special teacher education program. They answered the Multidimensional Attitudes Toward Inclusive Education Scale (MATIES : Mahat, 2008) adapted for students with EBD, that measures 3 aspects of attitudes: affective (6 items, α = .80), cognitive (6 items, α = .71) and behavioral (6 items, α = .84) . Results Globally, PT’s attitudes toward inclusion are somewhat positive but vary significantly depending on different aspects of attitudes. Surprisingly, paired t tests revealed that behavioral aspects are significantly more positive than affective and cognitive aspects. ANOVAs revealed significant differences according to gender, training programs (regular versus special education), years of training. No differences are observed according to training received regarding behavioral difficulties, but negative correlations are observed with hours of field experience. Conclusions PT’s attitudes toward inclusion are relatively more positive than negative, and self-report results about behavior attitudes suggest their willingness to support EBD inclusion. However, a systematic decrease in these attitudes over the years, as well as negative relationships between PS teachers' attitudes and hours of field experience, raises questions about the effect of training received and the support offered.
Massé et al., (2019) 12/03/2019
Symposium "What do I think and do about inclusive
education and classroom management of emotional and
behavioral difficulties : Portrait of preservice teachers" HICE 1
Line Massé1, Marie-France Nadeau2, Nancy Gaudreau3, Claudia
Verre t4,Anne Lessard2,& Sandy Nadeau2
1Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières
2Université de Sherbrooke
3Université Laval
4Université du Québec à Montréal
HICE Hawaï International Conference on Education, January 2019
1
Numerous studies closely relate attitudes of teachers
to their behavior and, moreover, to their intervention
choice.
Others studies in health and social psychology have
also linked behavioral beliefs, attitudes toward the
behavior and the adoption of a prescribed behavior
(Azjen, 2012).
3
qAttitudes toward inclusive education is reported to be
influenced by the type of disability.
qIncluding students with emotional and behavioral difficulties
(EBD) is generally linked with more negative attitudes than for
students with learning disabilities
§For teachers (Cook, Cameron & Tankersley, 2007) .
§For preser vice teachers (PT) (Haq & Mundia, 2012; Markova, Pit-Ten Cate,
Krolak-Schwerdt, & Glock, 2016; O’Toole & Burke, 2013).
§Behavioral difficulties are a major concern for PT (Clarke, Lodge et
Shevlin, 2012).
It is important to understand pre-service teachersacquired
attitudes towards inclusive education and how pre-service
training programs influence these attitudes (Kim, 2011).
4
Massé et al., (2019) 12/03/2019
Symposium "What do I think and do about inclusive
education and classroom management of emotional and
behavioral difficulties : Portrait of preservice teachers" HICE 2
To ge t a more thorough comp rehension of attitudes
maintained by preservice teachers toward students
with EBD in the province of Quebec
To describe different dimensions of attitudes by
Gender
Training Pro gram (ge ne ra l vs spe cial e du ca ti on )
Training receive d re ga rd in g behavior difficultie s
Yea r of tra inin g
Hours of internship
5
22
%
28
%
50
%
Longitudinal Transversal,
correlational and
predictive design
Mixed
methods
Quantitative
Survey
(30 min. questionnaire)
Multisite 3 universities
teaching program
Preservice
teachers
Four-
year
course
6
1499 preservice teachers (PT) enrolled in
a teacher education program
7%
93%
Gender
Male Female
25%
75%
Preservice Teaching
Education Program
Special General
Age
M= 22.39
SD = 2.97
Range = 19 42 7
20%
13%
16%
34%
17%
Course content on EBD
None < 10 hours < 30 hours
> 45 hours > 90 hours
30%
29%
24%
17%
Yea r o f t ra in in g
1s t 2nd 3r d 4t h
8
Massé et al., (2019) 12/03/2019
Symposium "What do I think and do about inclusive
education and classroom management of emotional and
behavioral difficulties : Portrait of preservice teachers" HICE 3
010 20 30 40 50 60
> 1 50
> 1 00
> 5 0
< 5 0
34.9 %
49.8 %
5.4 %
9.9 %
M = 51.77, SD = 47.69
Days of field experience
9
5,13
4,32
10
qMultidimensional Attitudes Toward Inclusive Education
Scale (MATIES : Mahat, 2008).
§Three scales measuring different dimensions of attitudes
§Cognitive (6 items, α= .71)
§Affective (6 items, α= .72)
§Behavioral (6 items, α= .84)
I believe that EBD students should be
taught in special education classroom.
I am uncomfortable including EBD
students in my classroom with other
students without difficulties.
I am willing to encourage EBD
students to participate in al social
activities in the regular classroom.
1Strongly Disagree Strongly Agree 611
Types of analysis
Descriptive
T tests
ANOVA
Post-hoc
12
Massé et al., (2019) 12/03/2019
Symposium "What do I think and do about inclusive
education and classroom management of emotional and
behavioral difficulties : Portrait of preservice teachers" HICE 4
4,3 4,4 4,5 4,6 4,7 4,8 4,9 55,1 5,2
Cognitive
Affective
Behavioral
5.11
4.78
4,61
Each dimension differed
significantly from each other
13
Vari a b le Cognitive Behavioral
Gender
Training Program G S
Year of training
EBD Training
Hours of
internship
Affective
G S
Women Men
G S
r= -.16*** r= -.16***
r= -.13*** 14
4
4,2
4,4
4,6
4,8
5
5,2
Cognitive Affective Behavioral
Male Female
4.46
4.62 4.63
4.79
4.91
5.12
t = 2.33*
t = 2.26*
t = 3.02**
15
4
4,2
4,4
4,6
4,8
5
5,2
5,4
Cognitive Affective Behavior al
General Special Ed ucation
4.64
4.52
4.72
4.93
5.04
5.31
t = 2.94**
t = -5.02***
t = -7.46***
16
Massé et al., (2019) 12/03/2019
Symposium "What do I think and do about inclusive
education and classroom management of emotional and
behavioral difficulties : Portrait of preservice teachers" HICE 5
Cogniti ve
Affecti ve
Behavi oral
4
4, 2
4, 4
4, 6
4, 8
5
5, 2
5, 4
123
4
Cog nitive Affective Behavioral
4.74
4.92
F = 10.50***
5.22
F = 13.36***
F = 13.36***
4.65
4.77
5.1
4.55
4.72
5.07
4.41
4.63
4.96
17
qGlobally, attitudes of preservice teachers toward
inclusion of student with EBD are somewhat positive
but vary significantly depending on different
dimensions of attitudes.
§Behavioral attitudes are significantly more positive
than affective and cognitive ones.
§Cognitive attitudes are neutral.
qPT’s positive behavioral attitudes suggest their
willingness to support EBD students’ inclusion.
qThis result is somewhat surprising, considering that
cognitive and affective attitudes are, based on
theTPB, predicting the behavioral ones (conation).18
qGender
§Results are different from Var c oe & Boyle (2014) where no difference
have been observed.
§But similar with our study on in-service teachers (Massé et al., in
preparation)
qTraining program
§PT in special education have more positive affective and behavioral
attitudes : they choose to work with students with special needs.
§On the other hand, PT in special education believe less in the
benefits of school inclusion of EBD students.
§In Quebec, they are more prone to teach in special classes.
qEBD Training
§Congruent with results of Lee, Yeung, Tracey et Barker (2015) where
teacher training did not influence teachers’ support of including
students with ADHD, but influenced the support for other students
with difficulties.
19
qYear of training and hours of internship
§Results differ from Goddard & Evans (2018) where PT’s
attitudes toward inclusion strengthened across the training
years (but no specific question for EBD students), and Va rc oe &
Boyle (2014) where no differences were observed.
§Goddard (2018) observes that attitudes are more related to
environmental variables.
§May be associated to the reality of field experiment as PT’s
greatest concerns are related to the adequacy of school
resources for supporting inclusive education (Woodcock et al., 2012).
§Having previous experience teaching classes with special
educational needs predicts less behavioural intention (Dias et
Cadime, 2016; Varc oe & Boyle, 2014; Sharma & Sokal, 2015)
§Experience influences positively only if it is a success
(Ahmmed, Sharma, & Deppeler, 2012)
20
Massé et al., (2019) 12/03/2019
Symposium "What do I think and do about inclusive
education and classroom management of emotional and
behavioral difficulties : Portrait of preservice teachers" HICE 6
Although global attitudes of PT toward inclusion are relatively more
positive than negative and that PT self-reports about behavior
attitudes suggest their willingness to support EBD students’ inclusion,
results on other aspects of attitudes raise some questions about PT
needs for cognitive and affective supports in the process of inclusive
education of students with EBD.
It could be concluded that pre-service teachers’ attitudes are more
influenced by their perceptions of matters of classroom practice, such
as the availability of resources and support rather than by any
biases towards including children with special needs into mainstream
classrooms.
Results suggest a need for training institutions to more explicitly
address issues of inclusive setting, resourcing and support in their
teacher education programs. 21
Ajzen, I. (2012). The theory of planned behaviour. In P. A . M . Va n L a n g e, A . W.
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(pp. 438-459). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications Ltd.
Ahmmed, M., Sharma, U., & Deppeler, J. (2012). Variables affecting teachers
attitudes towards inclusive education in Bangladesh . Journal of Research in Special
Educational Needs, 1 2(3), 132140.
Clarke, M., Lodge, A., & Shevlin, M. (2012). Evaluating initial teacher education
programmes: Perspectives from the Republ ic of Ireland. Teach in g and Teacher
Education, 28, 141153.
Cook, B. G., Cameron, D. L., & Tan ke rsl ey, M. (2007). Inclusive teachers'
attitudinal ratings of their students with disabilities. Journal of Special Education,
40(4), 230-238. doi:10.1177/00224669070400040401
Dias, P. C., & Cadime, I. (2016). Effects of personal and professional factors on
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Education, 31(1), 111-123. doi: 10.1080/08856257.2015.1108040
Haq, F. S., & Mundia, L. (2012). Comparison of Brunei preservice student
teachers’ attitudes to inclusive education and specific disabilities: Implications for
teacher education. The Journal of Educational Researc h, 105(5), 366-374. doi :
10.1080/00220671.2011.627399 22
Kim, J. (2011). Influence of teacher preparation programmes on preservice
teachers’ attitudes toward inclusion. International Journal of Inclusive
Education, 15(3), 355-377. doi: 10.1080/13603110903030097
Mahat, M. (2008). The development of a psychometrically-sound instrument
to measure teachers’ multidimensional attitudes toward inclusive education.
International Journal of Special Education, 23(1), 82-92.
Markova, M., Pit-Ten Cate, I., Krolak-Schwerdt, S., & Glock, S. (2016).
Preservice teachers' attitudes toward inclusion and toward students with
special educational needs from different ethnic backgrounds. Journal of
Experimental Education, 84(3), 554-578. doi :
10.1080/00220973.2015.1055317
Lee, F. L. M., Yeung, A. S., Tracey, D., & Barker, K. (2015). Inclusion of children
with special needs in early childhood education: What teacher
characteristics matter. Topi cs in Early Childhood Special Education, 35(2), 79-
88. doi : 10.1177/0271121414566014
23
O'Toole, C., & Burke, N. (2013). Ready, willing and able? Attitudes and
concerns in relation to inclusion amongst a cohort of Irish pre-service
teachers. European Journal of Special Needs Education, 28(3), 239-253. doi:
10.1080/08856257.2013.768451
Sharma, U., & Sokal, L. (2015). The impact of a teacher education course on
pre-service teachersbeliefs about inclusion: An international comparison.
Journal of Research in Special Educational Needs, 15(4), 276-284. doi:
10.1111/1471-3802.12043
Var coe, L., & Boyle, C. (2014). Pre-service primary teachers’ attitudes
towards inclusive education. Educational Psychology, 34(3), 323-337. doi:
10.1080/01443410.2013.785061
Woo d c ock, S. (2011). A cross sectional study of pre-service teacher efficacy
throughout the training years. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 36(10),
23-34.
24
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