Graduation Term

2020

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Department of Psychology

Committee Chair

Alycia M Hund

Abstract

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (2004) is a U.S. federal law that promotes an inclusive model of classroom participation. In this model, the goal is that all children, regardless of disability status, learn together while receiving high quality instruction and developing positive social relationships with peers. With the rise of inclusive education, more and more students with disabilities are receiving instruction in the general education classroom. Thus, it is pertinent that general educators feel confident in their abilities to effectively teach students with disabilities. Unfortunately, research has demonstrated that general education teachers have a low sense of teacher efficacy for teaching students with disabilities, in part due to a lack of education, experience, and support. Acknowledging the importance of teacher efficacy and the role it plays in children’s academic success, this study attempted to analyze elementary teacher efficacy in multiple domains. First, teachers in my sample reported relatively high efficacy related to students with disabilities, but general educators reported lower efficacy than special educators. In addition, this study found that general educators reported higher overall efficacy scores in teaching students with disabilities than teaching students in general. Lastly, this study attempted to better understand the construct of teacher efficacy and found that special educators reported higher levels of efficacy-related details such as education, experience, and support. Implications for the field of education are discussed.

Access Type

Thesis-Open Access

DOI

https://doi.org/10.30707/ETD2020.20210309065832405225.91

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