HOW INFLUENTIAL IS A CONTINUOUS PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT COURSE ON TEACHER EFFICACY, ATTITUDES AND CONCERNS TOWARDS THE IMPLEMENTATION OF INCLUSIVE CLASSROOM PRACTICES?

The aim of this study was to gauge the impact of a Continuous Professional Development course on teachers’ levels of efficacy, their attitudes and concerns towards the implementation of inclusive classroom practices.

Three scales were translated and administered prior to the commencement and at the end of the training course: the Teacher Efficacy for Inclusive Practices Scale (Sharma, Loreman and Forlin, 2012), the Concerns about Inclusive Education Scale (Sharma & Desai, 2002) and the Attitudes towards Inclusion Scale (Sharma & Jacobs, 2016). The sample included 150 teachers, with varying levels of teaching experience, who enrolled in this course to obtain the warrant to work as Learning Support Teachers in primary, lower and upper secondary schools. The research, conducted by the Department of Humanities, Philosophy and Education of the University of Salerno, was carried out between January and July 2016.

The theoretical framework underpinning this research project is a combination of theories stemming from psychological and neuroscientific research on the variables affecting teachers’ willingness to take the decision to implement inclusive practices and persevere over time. Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory (1986), Ajzen’s Theory of Planned Behaviour (1988) and the neuroscientific research conducted by Alain Berthoz on decision making (2003) and his theory of simplexity (2012) aid in providing a possible explanation of the variables, intricately intertwined, that influence teachers’ agency.

The data is currently being analysed. Besides providing information on in-service teachers’ attitudes, concerns and levels of teacher efficacy, the results will offer insight for future course-programme planning. In addition, the translation and validation of these scales may be useful for further research in the domain of teacher professionalism.