Instrument Validation: Chinese Version of Multidimensional Attitudes toward Preschool Inclusive Education Scale (MATPIES-C)

Abstract

ABSTRACT Preschool teachers’ attitudes toward preschool inclusive education (PIE) greatly influence their inclusive education practice. However, few instruments in this area with sound psychometric properties are available for Chinese teachers. The current study aims to validate the Multidimensional Attitudes toward Preschool Inclusive Education Scale (MATPIES) in a Chinese sample and adapt it to the Chinese context (MATPIES-C). A total of 653 preschool teachers participated in this study. The results revealed that (1) the original three-factor structure of MATPIES was not supported by the Chinese sample, and a four-factor structure emerged instead; the derived factors were affective, behavioural, cognitive-arrangement and cognitive-significance. (2) MATPIES-C reported high reliability (reliability coefficients = .904, .921, .827, .831, respectively), and its convergent and discriminant validity were also verified. (3) Comparisons between scores from each sub-construct revealed that the preschool teachers presented mixed attitudes toward PIE and further supported the newly derived four-factor structure. Thus, MATPIES-C provides a sound foundation for future research on Chinese preschool teachers’ attitudes toward PIE and can serve as evaluation indicators of PIE training programs for preschool teachers.