Abstract
Background: Following the inclusion of children with disabilities in mainstream schools worldwide, legislative changes have recently been introduced in Poland, facilitating educational inclusion of individuals with disabilities. However, practical implementation still requires further action. Attitudes are a major determinant of teachers' behavior. Therefore, based on the Theory of Planned Behavior, the instrument Attitudes Toward Teaching Individuals with Physical Disabilities in Physical Education (ATIPDPE) has been developed, and adapted to cultural contexts in several countries (e.g. South Africa, Slovenia, and Greece). Objectives: The aim of this study was to estimate construct validity of the revised ATIPDPE-R instrument to the Polish cultural context (ATIPDPE-R-PL), in order to prepare a reliable scale to measure the attitudes of physical education (PE) teachers towards teaching students with physical disabilities in general PE classes.Methods: Participants were 158 in-service PE teachers (100 women and 58 men, range of age from 25 to 60, from primary and secondary schools) from Polish schools. Construct validity was obtained throughout the principal component analysis method (PCA). Reliability was estimated through Cronbach's alpha coefficient, where the value of at least .7 was accepted as satisfactory.Results: Based on the analysis, the attitudinal scale of ATIPDPE-R-PL measured three psychological components, which came from the PCA, and explained 66% of the variance similar to the original scale.Conclusions: The three components were positive and negative outcomes for students and negative outcomes for teachers, however items in each component varied from the original scale.
Highlights
In the European Union the majority of countries encourages equality for people with disabilities, and promotes inclusive education as the preferred option
Reports claim that attitudes of physical education teachers (PET) towards including students with disabilities in their classes relate to their knowledge about special needs of the students with disabilities (Papadopoulou, Kokaridas, Papanikolaou, & Patsiaouras, 2004; Tripp & Rizzo, 2006)
Including students with physical disabilities in my PE class will help students without disabilities to learn to interact with persons with physical disabilities
Summary
In the European Union the majority of countries encourages equality for people with disabilities, and promotes inclusive education as the preferred option. PE is an obligatory subject in all Polish schools – often perceived to have a marginal role It is compulsory in mainstream education, children with disabilities are often excused from classes for medical reasons, lack of knowledge of teachers, lack of facilities or have physical therapy instead. It is a challenge for the majority of schools to ensure the same high quality physical education for all students. Objectives: The aim of this study was to estimate construct validity of the revised ATIPDPE-R instrument to the Polish cultural context (ATIPDPE-R-PL), in order to prepare a reliable scale to measure the attitudes of physical education (PE) teachers towards teaching students with physical disabilities in general PE classes. Conclusions: The three components were positive and negative outcomes for students and negative outcomes for teachers, items in each component varied from the original scale
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