Physical Educators' Judgments About Inclusion: A New Instrument for Preservice Teachers

Area of Science:

• Special Education
• Physical Education Teacher Education
• Attitude Measurement

Background:

• Inclusion of students with disabilities in general physical education is a key area in teacher education.
• Assessing preservice teachers' judgments is crucial for effective inclusive practices.
• Existing instruments may not fully capture the nuances of these judgments.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate an instrument measuring physical education preservice teachers' judgments about including students with disabilities.
• To provide valid evidence for the cognitive expressions of attitudes toward inclusion.
• To create a tool for use in physical education teacher education (PETE) programs.

Main Methods:

• Conceptualization of judgments as cognitive expressions of attitudes.
• Focus group discussions to inform instrument development.
• Content validation and principal component analysis (PCA) on data from 272 preservice teachers.

Main Results:

• The Physical Educators' Judgments About Inclusion (PEJI) instrument was developed.
• PCA identified 15 items explaining 53% of the variance within a three-component model.
• Subscales related to inclusion, acceptance, and perceived training needs demonstrated good reliability (alpha coefficients .64–.88).

Conclusions:

• The PEJI instrument offers a valid measure of preservice physical education teachers' judgments regarding inclusion.
• The findings highlight key dimensions: judgments about inclusion, acceptance, and training needs.
• This instrument can inform PETE programs to better prepare teachers for inclusive settings.