A scale of attitudes towards the students of classrooms of special education in ordinary schools

Abstract

Students with intellectual disabilities are increasingly present in primary and secondary schools. In schools coexist different ways of schooling to allow these people to study with students without disabilities. The importance of the instrument was to explore the attitudes of teachers working with students with intellectual disabilities in classrooms. The purpose of this research was to develop an instrument to assess teachers’ perceptions and needs related to the presence of students with intellectual disabilities in a regular classroom. A total of 849 teachers from 58 schools with a mean age of 45.54 years participated. Results showed that a three-factor structure (Favourable Attitude towards Inclusion, Negative Feelings towards Inclusion, and Competence Needs) was the best solution, with appropriate reliability and validity. The scale developed in this study enables an initial diagnosis of school functioning by assessing teachers’ perceptions and needs.