Investigation of the Relationships Between Beliefs About Developmentally Appropriate Practices, Competencies in Inclusive Practices and Self-Efficacy Perceptions in Early Childhood Education Teacher Candidates

Abstract

This study aims to examine early childhood education teacher candidates' beliefs about developmentally appropriate practices, their perceptions of self-efficacy and their levels of teacher self-efficacy in relation to inclusive education. Five hundred seventy-one university students participated in the study. According to the results, there were significant positive relationships between teachers' perceptions of self-efficacy and the belief scale for developmentally appropriate practices (r = 0.294). There were moderate positive relationships between teachers' perceptions of self-efficacy and teachers' self-efficacy towards inclusive education (r = 0.601), and low positive relationships between the belief scale for developmentally appropriate practices and teachers' self-efficacy towards inclusive education (r = 0.263). The mediation effect analysis showed that teachers' perception of self-efficacy can explain 42.86% of the effect of belief in developmentally appropriate practices on teacher self-efficacy towards inclusive education. These findings highlight that teachers' beliefs and self-efficacy perceptions play an important role in improving the quality of educational practices.