Teachers’ attitudes towards inclusion and their self-efficacy for inclusive practices as predictors of willingness to implement peer tutoring

Abstract

The attitudes teachers hold towards inclusion are one of the most widely researched themes in the field of inclusive education. Contrary to the most attitudinal studies which are solely focusing on examining the impact of a host of factors in the formation of teacher attitudes, the present study sought to link the reported attitudes towards inclusion and teachers’ self-efficacy for inclusive practices with an actual inclusive instructional approach, that of peer tutoring. Participants were 225 Greek general teachers and 69 special education counterparts who responded to a questionnaire consisting of the Core Perspectives Scale from the My Thinking about Inclusion scale, the Teacher Efficacy for Inclusive Practice scale and other scales measuring their attitudes towards peer tutoring. Results indicated that general teachers held neutral attitudes towards inclusion while their special education counterparts held significantly more positive ones. General teachers were found to be less positive in their self-efficacy for inclusive practices than the special education counterparts with the exception of the managing behaviour dimension. General teachers emphasised mainly the social gains achieved by students participating in a peer tutoring program. Moreover, they considered peer tutoring as an effective means for including students with diverse needs in their classrooms. Importantly, this study found that teachers’ attitudes towards inclusion and their self-efficacy for inclusive practices largely predict their willingness to implement a peer tutoring program in their classrooms. The paper concludes with highlighting the need to offer teachers professional development courses that positively influence their attitudes and enhance their sense of self-efficacy in implementing peer tutoring. © 2019 NASEN