‘It’s all about the attitudes!’ – Introducing a scale to assess teachers’ attitudes towards the practice of differentiated instruction

Abstract

ABSTRACT Due to the continuously increasing heterogeneity of the student body within classrooms worldwide, teachers are called to appropriately meet the educational needs of all learners. Differentiated Instruction (DI) is an effective inclusive approach addressing students’ individual needs. However, research shows that although teachers recognise its relevance, they rarely implement DI. Literature has suggested that teachers’ attitudes have a strong impact on their teaching behaviour. Different instruments have been developed to measure attitudes towards inclusion, inclusive practices, and heterogeneity. Yet, there are no existing scales focused on measuring teachers’ attitudes towards the practice of DI. This study aims to introduce and provide psychometric evidence on a newly developed instrument that assesses teachers’ attitudes towards DI (TAT-DIS). By means of exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses performed on self-report data from N = 295 secondary school teachers, two sufficiently reliable scales (Value of DI and Perceived Insufficient Resources), totalling 8 items were derived. In investigating the impact of teachers’ attitudes towards DI on their actual DI practice, Value of DI was the strongest predictor for DI: the more value or utility teachers ascribe to DI, the more they practice DI. Conversely, when teachers perceive a lack of resources, they implement less DI.