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

Abstract

One of the more important preconditions for successful inclusion is the teachers’ high level of self-efficacy. Therefore, the aim of this pilot study was to determine the self-efficacy of physical education teachers in the process of inclusion of children with physical disabilities, intellectual disabilities, and visual impairment. The study was carried out on a sample of 38 physical education teachers, aged 50.89 ± 10.56 years, working in elementary schools on the territory of the city of Niš. To evaluate self-efficacy, the Serbian version of the Situational-specific Self-efficacy and Inclusion Students with Disabilities in Physical Education questionnaire was used. The results indicated that physical education teachers have moderate levels of self-efficacy (3.70). Based on types of disability, the greatest degree of self-efficacy was noted for intellectual disability (3.77), followed by physical disability (3.71), and visual impairment (3.60). The results of the Friedman test showed that the obtained differences were not statistically significant (p= 0.76). The results of the Mann-Whitney U-test showed that gender (p=0.189) and teaching experience (p=0.970) do not lead to statistically significant differences in the self-efficacy of physical education teachers. This pilot study represents a foundation for future studies, which would include a greater number of respondents. In addition, it is necessary to study other factors which can impact self-efficacy, such as direct teaching experience involving children with disabilities, private acquaintance with children with disabilities, the level of academic education in the field of adaptive physical exercise, and attendance of additional workshops.