What Defines Inclusion in Higher Education Institutions? Validation of an Instrument Based on the ‘Index for Inclusion’

Abstract

ABSTRACT Optimising university access strategies and trying to reduce the risk of failure for students who do not fit the concept of traditional student requires that all involved in Higher Education make the necessary effort to embrace the ideals of inclusion. This paper presents the validation of the Scale of Perceptions on Inclusion in the University (SPIU), elaborated from the three main areas of the Index for Inclusion: Culture, Politics and Practice. A sample of 574 university students was tested. An exploratory factor analysis (n = 278) verified a solution in six factors (52.04% of the variance explained): building communities, establishing inclusive values, developing a school for everyone, organising support for diversity, orchestrating learning, and mobilising resources. A confirmatory factorial structure (n = 296) was constructed from six first-order factors, grouped around three second-order factors: culture, politics, and practice (χ2/gl = 1.494, CFI = .951, GFI = .871; RMR = .041, RMSEA = .041). An adequate reliability and validity, and moderate-to-high correlations between factors were found. This structure allows to define inclusion in the university and has an analytical anddiagnosis value on the students’ interests and demands, and as aprelude to individualizing the needs of each student.