Abstract
The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between teachers’ attitudes towards and teacher efficacy in inclusive education, and the emotional distress in Japan. A survey of 158 primary school teachers in Yamaguchi prefecture, Japan measured the attitudes of regular and special education teachers for inclusive education and teacher efficacy toward inclusive education to assess the impact of these factors on teachers’ emotional distress. The results indicated that the teachers’ emotional distress was significantly and negatively correlated with attitudes toward integrated classroom management and perceived ability to teach students with disabilities. Furthermore, teachers’ emotional distress was significantly and negatively correlated with high teacher efficacy in inclusive instruction, collaboration, and managing behavior. A regression analysis was performed which further confirmed that efficacy in collaboration and managing behavior were unique predictors of emotional distress in primary school teachers. These findings can provide useful insights into the issue of emotional distress in primary school teachers.
Highlights
The issue of the emotional distress of primary school teachers has been gaining attention in Japan (Nishida and Otomo, 2010; Takahara, 2015; Hasegawa-Ohira et al, 2016)
This study examined the effect of teacher attitudes and teacher efficacy for inclusive education on the emotional distress of primary school teachers in Japan
The results of this study showed that the scores of the efficacy in using inclusive instructions (EII) subscales of the Teacher Efficacy for Inclusive Practice (TEIP) were significantly and positively correlated with the scores for integrated classroom management (ICM), perceived ability to teach students with disabilities (PATSD), and special versus integrated general education (SIGE)
Summary
The issue of the emotional distress of primary school teachers has been gaining attention in Japan (Nishida and Otomo, 2010; Takahara, 2015; Hasegawa-Ohira et al, 2016). Developed as a screening tool to detect those likely to have or to be at risk of developing psychiatric disorders, it uses a 28-item measure of emotional distress (Stering, 2011) Their results clearly showed that many teachers suffered from emotional distress. In this regard, Nishida and Otomo (2010) pointed out that primary school teachers were more likely to experience significant emotional distress as a result of being surrounded by various stressors and because the teaching profession is very socially demanding. Nishida and Otomo (2010) pointed out that primary school teachers were more likely to experience significant emotional distress as a result of being surrounded by various stressors and because the teaching profession is very socially demanding Evidence like this underscores the importance and the necessity of considering the factors affecting the emotional distress of primary school teachers
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