HOW INFLUENTIAL IS A CONTINUOUS PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT COURSE ON TEACHER EFFICACY, ATTITUDES AND CONCERNS TOWARDS THE IMPLEMENTATION OF INCLUSIVE CLASSROOM PRACTICES?

The aim of this study was to measure the impact of a Continuous Professional Development course on three affective latent variables (teacher efficacy, attitudes, concerns) and the construct of intention. Four scales were translated and administered prior to the commencement and at the end of the training course: the Teacher Efficacy for Inclusive Practices Scale [1], the Attitudes towards Inclusion Scale [2], the Concerns about Inclusive Education Scale [3], and the Intentions to Teach in Inclusive Classrooms Scale [2]. The sample included 177 teachers, with varying levels of teaching experience, who enrolled in this course to obtain the warrant to work as Learning Support Teachers in nursery, primary, lower or upper secondary schools. The theoretical framework underpinning this project is a combination of theories stemming from psychological and neuroscientific research on the variables affecting teachers’ willingness to take the decision to implement inclusive practices and persevere over time. Ajzen’s Theory of Planned Behaviour [4], Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory [5], and the neuroscientific research conducted by Alain Berthoz on decision making [6] and his theory of simplexity [7] aid in providing a possible explanation of the variables, intricately intertwined, that influence teachers’ agency. The data is currently being analysed. Besides providing information on inservice teachers’ attitudes, concerns, levels of teacher efficacy and intentions, the results will offer insight for future programme planning. In addition, the use of these scales may be useful for further research in the domain of teacher professionalism.