Development and validation of a scale to identify attitudes towards disability in Higher Education

Attitudes towards disability in educational settings have prompted various research projects, highlighting the importance of quality tools to measure them. However, there are few studies of disability in universities, and there are no tools that specifically measure this construct within a university context.

The design and validation of the CUNIDIS ('Questions about University and Disability') Scale, a test aiming to identify attitudes towards disability in Higher Education, are described in this article. A large sample of university participants was included in the research (teaching staff, n = 422 and students, n = 2,767).

The results obtained provide evidence of the psychometric quality of the items, adequate reliability, homogeneity and high predictive validity of the tool.

It is concluded that the scale designed has adequate validity and reliability to detect attitudes towards disability in university contexts. It is therefore presented as a key element in promoting the social dimension of the European Higher Education Area due to its teaching and institutional implications.