In Quebec, meeting the needs of students with special needs and including these children in the general education classroom, is believed to foster their learning and social competence. Teachers have often reported that they do not always feel prepared to teach students with special needs. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between teachers' attitudes toward inclusion and teachers' sense of self-efficacy and the quality of the student-teacher relationship. Thirty-four teachers from the region of Montreal, teaching students with special needs in the regular French immersion classroom, responded to four questionnaires and to two open-ended questions, and shared their views and attitudes toward inclusive education. Findings revealed that a positive attitude towards inclusion was related to positive teaching efficacy. Moreover, teachers' attitude varied across disabilities. More specifically, teachers' positive attitude was related to teaching students with academic difficulties and social maladjustments. Teachers' negative attitudes toward inclusion were related to teaching students with behaviour problems and physical disabilities. Teachers also suggested that a variety of resources such as teacher assistants, academic resources and a smaller student-teacher ratio would be beneficial toward successful inclusive practices.

In this book the editors have been able to provide a snapshot of current research being undertaken in the Asia-Pacific region in regards to teacher self-efficacy beliefs. This includes specific focuses on inclusive teaching, professionalism, subject domains, collective efficacy as well as specific contexts of early childhood education and care, primary schools education, special needs schools and teacher education. This allows the reader to begin to develop an understanding about the complexity of teacher self-efficacy as well as the development and relationship between self-efficacy and other theoretical constructs and concepts. The book begins with an overall summary of research in the Asia-Pacific region before moving to a specific focus on research in different countries. All of the chapters also provide hope to the reader about the possibilities of understanding and supporting teachers and schools beliefs to enhance teacher behaviour. Through the implementation of teacher self-efficacy beliefs into educational contexts, teacher education programmes and professional development programmes, there is strong hope that the outcomes of education systems in supporting all students in their learning can be achieved. By allowing teachers to develop their own sources of efficacy and supporting these through all stages of career development, all children can be supported in their own learning.

The purpose of this study was to investigate if collective sense of teaching efficacy, general sense of teaching efficacy, or personal sense of teacher efficacy influenced teacher attitude toward inclusive classroom settings. Additionally, the study sought to determine if teacher attitude toward inclusive classroom settings differed when taking into account primary student disability type. Prior research indicates that there is a direct link between teacher sense of efficacy and student disability type when determining teacher attitude toward inclusive classroom settings. The sample population for the survey consisted of a convenience sample that represented only a select number of teachers, thus limiting the generalizability of the findings. Multiple regression and analysis of variance (ANOVA) were utilized to test the hypotheses that teacher sense of efficacy and student disability type had no impact on teacher attitude toward inclusive classroom settings. Consistent with predictions based on Social Cognitive Theory, this study indicated that teacher sense of efficacy and primary student disability type had a direct impact on teacher attitude toward inclusive classroom settings.

A practical guide to working with primary and secondary students who need extra attention. It outlines the principles behind diversity and inclusive policies, and discusses the range of needs teachers can expect to encounter in an inclusive classroom.

The purpose of this non-experimental, quantitative research study was to examine if a predictive relationship existed between general educators' perceived self-efficacy, attitudes toward inclusion, and the reading achievement of special needs students in an urban school district in the Midwestern United States. A convenience sample of 65 middle school reading teachers participated in the study. The theory of planned behavior, self-efficacy theory, and social cognitive theory provided a theoretical understanding of how inclusion affects the attitude and behaviors of teachers. Attitudes and beliefs affect behavior by determining what a middle school teacher does and does not do, thereby affecting what the student with a disability receives in the classroom. A simple linear regression was used to test the hypotheses according to scores generated from the Teachers' Sense of Efficacy Scale (TSES) short form and the Scale of Teachers' Attitude Toward Inclusive Classrooms (STATIC). The results of both simple linear regression analyses determined that neither the TSES nor the STATIC were found to be significant predictors of the change in Ohio Academic Achievement (OAA) reading test scores during the 2012-2013 school years. The results of this study added to the knowledge base of the field by examining the predictive relationship between teacher perceptions of their self-efficacy, attitudes, and regarding inclusion and the reading achievement of special education students that have been included in a general education classroom for reading instruction.

Over the last two decades, the implementation of inclusive schooling has increased significantly in European countries and worldwide. According to empirical evidence, one of the most important success factors in implementing inclusive schooling are the attitudes of the actors involved. Previous studies have shown that positive attitudes towards inclusive schooling are not only a condition for success regarding the implementation, but also an important outcome variable of inclusive education. The present study provides empirical insights into the attitudes towards students with learning disabilities and behavioral disorders. A study called ATIS-STEP (Attitudes Towards Inclusive Schooling - Students', TEachers' and Parents' Attitudes) was conducted in the school year 2016/17 in 48 inclusive classrooms in Austria. It is the first study to provide longitudinal data that examines the attitudes of the three different stakeholder groups: students, teachers and parents. Furthermore, the interdependency of the attitudes of the three groups, as well as the influence of previous contact experience on the attitudes are analyzed and discussed. Dr. Susanne Schwab: Professorin für Methodik und Didaktik in den Förderschwerpunkten Lernen sowie emotionale und soziale Entwicklung, School of Education am Institut für Bildungsforschung an der Bergischen Universität Wuppertal, Deutschland, und Extraordinary Professor in der Research Focus Area Optentia an der North-West University, Vanderbijlpark, South Africa. Vorsitzende der Sektion Empirische pädagogische Forschung der Österreichischen Gesellschaft für Forschung und Entwicklung im Bildungswesen (ÖFEB). Arbeitsschwerpunkte: Inklusionspädagogik, Lehrerprofessionalisierung, Soziale Partizipation.

Since the 1970s there has been a growing legislative focus, in the United States and abroad, on providing inclusive education for students with disabilities in the least restrictive environment alongside their typical peers. However, this shift in policy has not resulted in a comparable shift in practice. Key factors shown to influence the success of implementing inclusive educational practices are teachers' attitudes and beliefs. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between secondary special education teachers' attitudes toward the inclusion of students with disabilities and their sense of self-efficacy related to supporting students with disabilities included in the general education classroom. The mixed-methods design was grounded in the theories of planned behavior and self-efficacy. Quantitative data collection included a survey with questions regarding (a) demographic information and background of the teacher, (b) teachers' sense of self-efficacy regarding the inclusion of students with disabilities, and (c) teachers' attitudes toward the inclusion of students with disabilities. The qualitative portion of the design included individual interviews regarding teachers' perceptions of their own efficacy with and attitudes towards inclusive education and the relationship between these factors. Teacher participants included secondary special educators in a large suburban school district undergoing a shift in special education service delivery practices toward increasing the inclusion of students with disabilities in general education. The aim of this study was inform teacher training and professional development efforts. Among the key findings was the conclusion that the special education teachers in the district of study lacked a clear, shared understanding of inclusion as well as their roles and responsibilities in a more inclusive special education service delivery model. These special educators had an overall positive attitude toward the theory of inclusion, but held negative attitudes towards the actual practice of inclusion; specifically, teachers expressed a strong resistance to the elimination of self-contained special education classrooms. Similarly, special education teachers in this study reported high senses of self-efficacy for supporting students with disabilities overall, but had doubts about their abilities to apply these skills in the general education classroom. The results of this study will inform professional development efforts toward increasing the inclusion of students with disabilities, as well as areas of need for additional research. Limitations of the study, as well as implications for practice, are discussed.