Assessing the Validity and Reliability of an Instrument for Multidimensional Measurement of Attitudes towards Inclusive Education of Children with SEN

Abstract

The introduction of inclusive education mechanisms into the educational process is inextricably linked with the social and cultural characteristics of the social groups involved in this process. A key role is assigned to teachers in inclusive classes, while parents of children with special educational needs (SEN) and parents of children without SEN studying in such classes are actively involved in this process, influencing teachers and the success of the implementation of the process. The available studies, both in Russian and foreign literature, are limited to highlighting one-dimensional attitudes (negative / positive ratio). The purpose of this article is to present the methodology developed within the framework of the project 'Inclusive Education: Strategies, Practices and Resources' for measuring the social attitudes of teachers, parents of children with SEN and parents of children without SEN in relation to inclusive education and assess its convergent construct validity and reliability (consistency). An important difference between the presented methodology is the complexity of the assessment – all three aspects of the attitude are evaluated simultaneously (cognitive, affective, behavioral). A block of statements was prepared for each aspect, and respondents were asked to indicate their degree of agreement with the statements. To assess the reliability of the instrument, the Cronbach’s alpha index was used; to assess the validity, the Spearman rank correlation coefficient with a direct question about support for inclusive education was used. As a result of the analysis, a set of components was identified that represent dimensions of attitudes towards inclusive education of children with SEN. These components are reproduced in all three studied groups and are characterized by high values of Cronbach’s alpha (reliability) and Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient theoretically sound direction (validity).