Predictors of Teacher Efficacy for Inclusive Practice in Pre-service Teachers

Abstract

Teachers who show high teacher efficacy affect student achievement positively. Teaching is sometimes seen as an overwhelming profession because of classroom diversity and expectations placed on teachers. It is important to bring beginning teachers to the point at which they feel they are capable and will be more emotionally equipped to take on the stressors of the classroom. The current study focused on predicting pre-service teachers’ efficacy for inclusive practice from variables found to be important in the literature: gender, inclusion-related beliefs, and experiences with individuals with disabilities. Participants consisted of 1,026 students completing the in-faculty component of their pre-service program in 9 faculties of education across Canada. They completed the Teacher Efficacy for Inclusive Practice survey and the Beliefs about Learning and Teaching Questionnaire. All teacher candidates appeared to benefit from experience with people with disabilities. General findings indicated more positive inclusive beliefs for women than men and for pre-service teachers in elementary than in secondary programs. Important differences emerged, however, concerning which beliefs contributed to each area of teacher efficacy for secondary as compared to elementary programs. Results are discussed in terms of issues to consider in initial teacher education programs.