Role stress, self -efficacy, support for research-based effective teaching behaviors, and teachers' attitudes toward inclusive education
Abstract
The adoption of innovative practices often requires changes in the adopters' (e.g., general education teachers) roles and functions. Unclear expectations of the requirements which define and govern the new roles can give rise to role stress (e.g., role conflict, role ambiguity). These role discrepancies can lead to lack of appropriate feedback and faulty judgments, thereby negatively influencing self-efficacy beliefs and subsequent behaviors. Hence, newly acquired or previously learned skills may either be under utilized, inappropriately utilized, or not utilized at all.^ Therefore, the purpose of the present study was to investigate the effect of teachers' perceived role stress (role conflict, role ambiguity), perceived self-efficacy (personal teaching, teaching), and support for research-based effective teaching behaviors on their attitudes toward inclusive education.^ A total of 117 general education teachers from a suburban school district in New York participated in the study. The participants completed the following instruments: Attitudes Toward Inclusive Education Scale, Role Questionnaire, Teacher Efficacy Scale, Teaching Behaviors Questionnaire, and a demographics sheet. Inferential statistical techniques were conducted on the teacher demographics and the variables under investigation. Path analyses were conducted to test the hypothesized causal links between the predictor variables of role stress, self-efficacy, and support for research-based effective teaching behaviors on the criterion variable of attitudes toward inclusive education.^ The causal models suggested that support for research-based effective teaching behaviors not only had an indirect effect through role stress, but also had the most direct effect on teachers' attitudes toward inclusive education. Teachers' efficacy beliefs did not contribute to the hypothesized models. The relevance of these findings to the effective implementation of inclusive practices are discussed and recommendations for future research are made. ^
Subject Area
Education, Administration|Psychology, Industrial|Education, Curriculum and Instruction
Recommended Citation
Mendez, Giovanni, "Role stress, self -efficacy, support for research-based effective teaching behaviors, and teachers' attitudes toward inclusive education" (1997). ETD Collection for Fordham University. AAI9824344.
https://research.library.fordham.edu/dissertations/AAI9824344
