Physical Education Teachers’ Self-Efficacy toward Including Students with Autism in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

The inclusion of students with autism in physical education (PE) curricula has become a global trend. Although the self-efficacy of PE teachers has been identified as a major factor supporting the successful implementation of inclusive PE, limited research exists on this area in non-Western societies, especially Saudi Arabia. To address this paucity, the present study aimed (1) to determine the level of self-efficacy among PE teachers in Saudi Arabia toward including students with autism in PE classes via investigating specific independent variables; and (2) to identify the predictors of Saudi PE teachers’ self-efficacy toward including students with autism. A total of 214 Saudi PE teachers (male n = 188; female n = 26; mean age = 41.07 years) participated in this study. Self-efficacy level toward including students with autism was measured using the Arabic version of the Physical Educators’ Self-Efficacy Towards Including Students with Disabilities-Autism (PESEISD-A) instrument. Statistical analysis revealed that PE teachers had a moderate level (M = 4.51, SD = 2.04) of self-efficacy toward including students with autism in PE classes. Multiple linear regression analysis indicated that age and feelings of preparedness of the teachers were significant predictors (β = −0.297; p = 0.012; β = 0.178; p = 0.012, respectively) of their self-efficacy toward including students with autism in PE classes. The findings highlight the need for continued efforts to improve Saudi PE teachers’ level of self-efficacy and preparedness towards successfully including students with autism.

Physical education teachers’ attitudes toward inclusion of students with disabilities in Saudi Arabia

“…The current study’s findings are also inconsistent with a recent Saudi investigation that indicated that male PE teachers demonstrated higher levels of confidence toward the inclusion of students with autism than female participants ( Alhumaid, 2021 ). One possible explanation for why the current study’s findings are inconsistent with Alhumaid’s ( Alhumaid, 2021 ) findings might be the difficulties that PE teachers face when including students with autism in their PE classes. For instance, Lindblom et al (2020) reported that teachers’ feelings were negative toward the inclusion of students with autism in their classes.…”

The Self-Efficacy of Teachers in the Process of Inclusion in Physical Education Classes

“…Results that coincide with those of our study were obtained by Teng et al (2021), who also determined that the gender of teachers has no impact on SE. Contrary to the findings of our and the aforementioned study, Alhumaid (2021) determined that male PE teachers do have a statistically higher level of SE by analysing the differences in SE in relation to gender in the case of the inclusion of children with autism spectrum disorders. When explaining these results, he claimed that the reason could be found in the fact that female PE teachers have less experience teaching inclusive PE classes in Saudi Arabia.…”

“…The SE of teachers toward inclusion in physical education first started receiving attention some 20 years ago, and has in particular been the focus of study for the past 10 years (Reina et al, 2016;Hutzler & Daniel-Shama, 2017a;Hutzler & Barak, 2017b;Selickaitė, Hutzler, Pukėnas, Block, & Rėklaitienė, 2018;Reina, Ferriz, & Roldan, 2019;Selickaitė et al, 2019;Alhumaid, 2021;Teng, Yeo, Lee, & Chin, 2021;Antala et al, 2022). In addition to the studies of the SE of teachers in the process of inclusion already underway in schools, studies were also carried out for the evaluation of the SE of physical education students (Hutzler, et al, 2005;Block, Hutzler, Barak, & Klavina, 2013;Jovanović, Kudláček, Block, & Djordjević, 2014;Taliaferro et al, 2015;Baloun, Kudlaček, Sklenaríkova, Ješina, & Migdauova, 2016;Tindall et al, 2016;Wang, Liu, Wei, & Block, 2020;Alhumaid, Khoo, & Bastos, 2020;).…”

Predictors of Teachers' Self-Efficacy for Self-Regulated Learning among Saudi Teachers

“…(De Smul et al, 2018;Ewijk, 2016;Gan et al, 2020;Smul et al, 2019). However, in Saudi , although there are studies that have dealt with teachers' self-efficacy (Alhumaid, 2021;Alhumaid et al, 2020;Alnahdi, 2019;Alwaleedi, 2017;Alzahrani, 2021), there is insufficient evidence of Saudi teachers' self-efficacy in SRL and their practice of SRL either in general or special settings according to the researcher's knowledge. Moreover, previous literature showed an inconsistency in its outcomes about the relationship between self-efficacy and some variables such as gender, years of experience and specialization.…”