Teaching Students with Disabilities in Inclusive Classrooms: An Investigation of the Effectiveness of Teacher Preparation Programs

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between teacher preparation pathways and general education teachers’ self-efficacy for inclusive education, and whether grade level taught and years of teaching experience moderated the relationship. Grounded in Bandura’s social cognitive theory, this study measured self-efficacy using the Teacher Efficacy for Inclusive Practices (TEIP) scale.

Data were collected from 103 general education teachers in a large public school district in the southeastern United States. Data analyses included a one-way MANOVA, factorial MANOVA, and hierarchical multiple regression. Results indicated that teacher preparation pathways did not significantly predict teachers’ self-efficacy for inclusive education. Additionally, neither grade level taught nor years of teaching experience moderated the relationship. Despite the non-significant findings, descriptive differences in teachers’ self-efficacy for inclusive education were observed across preparation pathways.

These findings suggest that factors beyond preparation pathways alone may play a role in shaping teachers’ self-efficacy for inclusive education. Implications for teacher preparation programs, school districts, policymakers, and future research are discussed.