Date of Award

Summer 2025

Document Type

Open Access Thesis

Department

Psychology

First Advisor

Sarah Edmunds

Abstract

Compared to their general education peers, children with special education needs (SEN) experience poorer outcomes socially, academically, and occupationally. However, when teachers engage students using inclusive classroom practices (ICPs), these differences in outcomes become smaller or disappear. Various studies have provided evidence for the link between increased teacher self-efficacy (TSE) in the use of ICPs and teacher’s actual use of these skills. Little research has directly established factors that contribute to increased or decreased TSE in ICP use. In this study, we collected data from 59 southeastern elementary school teachers and 39 elementary school administrators. Building on previous research, I analyzed how teacher perceptions of leadership, the school’s neighborhood socioeconomic context, and other identified factors influence teachers' self-efficacy (TSE) in implementing inclusive classroom practices (ICP). We found that neighborhood socioeconomic context did not appear to significantly influence TSE in ICP implementation while teacher confidence in leadership support and the occurrence of teacher peer collaboration did contribute to higher ratings of TSE in ICP use, on average. I found non-significant, weak relationships between TSE in ICP use and variables more proximal to teachers, such as the amount of quality planning time, special education training, and class size. This study represents one of the first to explore how inner and outer context factors influence TSE in ICP use. The findings from this preliminary study will be used to inform a broader mixed-method examination of what practices/changes may increase TSE in ICP use.

Rights

© 2025, Quentin O. Wedderburn

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Available for download on Monday, May 31, 2027

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