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Attitudes and self-efficacy as significant predictors of intention of secondary school teachers towards the implementation of inclusive education in Ghana

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Abstract

The intention of teachers towards adopting inclusive practices is vital to determining teaching behaviour in classrooms. Although some previous studies have reported that variables such as attitudes, subjective norms and self-efficacy combine to predict intention of teachers, such studies are sparse in sub-Saharan Africa and mainly limited to primary school teachers. In this study, the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) was adopted as a framework to study the predictors of intentions of teachers towards inclusive education in secondary schools in Ghana. Four scales, developed to reflect the elements of TPB, were used to collect data from 457 secondary school teachers. Only the two determinants, attitude and self-efficacy, combined to significantly predict the intention of teachers towards practising inclusive education. Interestingly, there was no relationship between subjective norms and intention towards inclusive education. The need for teacher educators to prioritise the two variables, in attempt to promote inclusive practices in secondary schools in Ghana, is also discussed.

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Acknowledgments

I would like to thank all the teachers who took part in this study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Education, University of Tasmania, Locked Bag, Launceston, 1307, Australia

    Maxwell Peprah Opoku, Monica Cuskelly, Scott J. Pedersen & Christopher S. Rayner

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  1. Maxwell Peprah Opoku
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Correspondence to Maxwell Peprah Opoku.

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The study and its protocols were approved by the Human Research and Ethics Committee at the University.

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Current Themes of Research: Assessment and evaluation. Attitudes and perceptions

Most Relevant Publications: Parental attitudes. Teacher retention. Teacher’s intentions

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Table 4 Correlation between demographic variables TPB variables
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Opoku, M.P., Cuskelly, M., Pedersen, S.J. et al. Attitudes and self-efficacy as significant predictors of intention of secondary school teachers towards the implementation of inclusive education in Ghana. Eur J Psychol Educ 36, 673–691 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10212-020-00490-5

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