Background/Purpose Perceived competence has been found to significantly predict favorable teacher attitudes toward the inclusion of students with disabilities in general physical education (Hodge, 1998; Kowalski & Rizzo, 1996; Rizzo & Kirkendall, 1995; Rizzo & Vispoel, 1991). Past studies have measured perceived competence with one general question. Little research has been conducted in the field of adapted physical education to further investigate perceived competence using the framework of self-efficacy theory, and no valid instrument existed. The purpose of this study was to determine the reliability and validity of an instrument which explored physical educators' self-efficacy beliefs (SE), sources of self-efficacy (mastery experiences [ME], vicarious experiences [VE], social persuasion [SP] and physiological states [PS]), behaviors (BEH), and perceived challenges (PCH) in regard to the inclusion of students with autism.
Method The Physical Educators' Self-efficacy Toward Including Students with Disabilities-Autism (PESEISD-A) instrument was constructed based on Bandura's (2006) guidelines. A sample of 236 in-service physical educators completed the PESEISD-A survey.
Analysis/Results Cronbach's alpha measured internal consistency on each subscale: SE (.930); ME (.919); VE (.967); SP (.962); PS (.863); BEH (.953); and PCH (.862). Test-retest reliability estimates were: SE (.859); ME (.888); VE (.931); SP (.708); PS (.677): BEH (.771); and PCH (.762). Exploratory factor analysis on the self-efficacy scale revealed a one-factor solution explaining 57.76% of the total variance.
Conclusions The PESEISD-A instrument is a valid and reliable measure of physical educators' self-efficacy beliefs toward inclusion and can be used to gain a comprehensive understanding of how self-efficacy beliefs are developed.
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