Adaptation and validation of Multidimensional Attitudes toward Inclusive Education Scale

Abstract

Polish researchers of teachers' attitudes towards inclusive education have not yet had a validity and reliable tool that could be successfully used in scientific research. The aim of the article is to present the adaptation and validation of the Multidimensional Attitude towards Inclusive Education Scale. A total of 556 teachers of all levels of education participated in the study, who completed the Polish version of the Multidimensional Attitudes towards Inclusive Education Scale, the Scale of Attitudes towards School Integration of Children with Disabilities, the Norwegian Scale of Teachers' Self-Efficacy and the Survey of Perceived Organizational Support. The factor analysis and the relationships between the variables were performed to confirm the theoretical validity and the scale reliability analysis. The study confirmed the three-factor structure of the Multidimensional Attitudes toward Inclusive Education Scale. The theoretical validity was also confirmed on the basis of positive relationships between the cognitive, affective and behavioral components of the attitude and the sense of self-efficacy, including motivating students and adjusting the program to students' needs, maintaining discipline and cooperation with parents, teaching students and cooperation with colleagues, perceived organizational support. Additionally, there was a positive relationship between the attitude components and a positive attitude to school integration and a negative relationship with a negative attitude to this integration. The reliability of the scale was confirmed in four trials. The article presents a validity and reliable tool for researching teachers' attitudes towards inclusive education, which may be a starting point for research on predictors and the consequences of these attitudes.