Abstract:

The paper investigates the relationship between some factors related to teacher education for teaching pupils with disabilities and teacher self-efficacy for behaviour management. The research has two aims. The first is to define the latent structure of teachers' characteristics related to their education for teaching pupils with disabilities during initial education, and the second is to define the latent structure of those characteristics related to their education for teaching pupils with disabilities through in-service training. The survey included 177 teachers and it was part of the pilot study related to teachers’ self-assessment of self-efficacy for inclusive education in Istria County, Croatia. Behavioural management refers to those activities that teachers undertake to facilitate academic and socioemotional learning, and its goal is not only to maintain order in the classroom for easier adoption of information but also to encourage the social development of pupils. Teacher self-efficacy for behaviour management refers to a teacher's assessment of their own ability to successfully manage students' behaviour in the classroom, especially when faced with difficulties, such as group work, setting class rules, or controlling disruptive behaviours. The Self-Efficacy for Behaviour Management Subscale, which is an integral part of the Self-Efficacy for Inclusive Practice Questionnaire, was used as a measuring instrument. One-way and multivariate analysis of variance and discriminant analysis were used in the data processing. The results indicate the existence of statistically significant differences in self-efficacy for behaviour management between groups of teachers who did not attend any courses focused on teaching pupils with disabilities during their studies, those who attended one or two such courses, and those who attended three or more courses. In addition, statistically significant differences in self-efficacy for behaviour management were found in teachers who after their studies did not participate in in-service training focused on teaching pupils with disabilities, those who were trained for up to 20 hours, and those who were trained for 20 and more hours. Discriminant analysis showed the existence of two discriminant functions that significantly differentiate respondents in terms of the number of courses related to inclusive education they attended during initial education and the number of hours of in-service training to teach pupils with disabilities. The scientific contribution of the results is reflected in obtaining results that offer valuable insight into understanding the relationship of individual components of self-efficacy for behavioural management with factors that could affect it. The applicative value lies in the establishment of guidelines on the possibilities of enriching the professional development of teachers and building their capacities for inclusive teaching, both through initial education and through in-service training.

Keywords:

Pupils with disabilities, self-efficacy for behaviour management, initial teacher education, in-service teacher training, inclusive education.