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Article

Self-Efficacy and Attitudes of Physical Education Teachers towards Inclusion of Pupils with Disabilities

by
Branislav Antala
1,
Michal Průžek
1 and
Monika Popluhárová
2,*
1
Faculty of Physical Education and Sports, Comenius University in Bratislava, Nábrežie Armádneho Generála Ludvíka Svobodu 9, 814 69 Bratislava, Slovakia
2
Regional Office of the National Institute of Education and Youth in Bratislava, The National Institute of Education and Youth, Ševčenkova 11, 850 05 Bratislava, Slovakia
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Sustainability 2022, 14(20), 13292; https://doi.org/10.3390/su142013292
Submission received: 28 September 2022 / Revised: 12 October 2022 / Accepted: 14 October 2022 / Published: 16 October 2022
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Physical Education for Sustainability: Policy and Practice)
Review Reports Versions Notes

Abstract

:
The aim of the research was to investigate teachers’ self-efficacy and attitudes towards inclusion of pupils with disabilities in mainstream education. The research group consisted of 253 physical education teachers (125 male and 128 female) with an average age of 40.52 ± 10.69 working in primary (62%) and secondary (38%) Slovak schools. To obtain empirical data, the standardized questionnaire methods SE-PETE-D and PEATID-III were used. In the analysis of self-efficacy, using the Mann–Whitney U test, significant differences were found in practical experience with pupils with disabilities and (a) teachers’ self-efficacy (p ≤ 0.01) and (b) their attitudes (p ≤ 0.05). The same significant differences (p ≤ 0.05) were found between participation in APA/APE courses and both (a) self-efficacy as well as (b) attitudes. Moreover, the research found the same significant differences (p ≤ 0.01) between the type of disability and both (a) self-efficacy and (b) attitudes. A significantly positive correlation with a moderate relationship between teachers’ self-efficacy and their attitudes towards pupils with disabilities (p ≤ 0.01) were also found. Based on our findings, recommendations with specific proposals for physical and sports education practice were formulated.

1. Introduction

Pupils with disabilities worldwide are increasingly being introduced into mainstream education, and Slovakia has been no exception for some time now. Pupils with disabilities should have equal access to exercise in physical and sports education (PSE) classes because, as stated by the United Nations, it is a fundamental right of all people. This also applies to inclusive education.
Several studies have found that inclusive education brings several significantly positive effects [1], such as the development of the physical, psychological, and social behaviour [2] of pupils with disabilities as well as their intact classmates [3]. It should be noted that not only do pupils with disabilities and intact pupils clearly benefit from inclusive education, but also do teachers [4], who are one of the most important factors of successful inclusion in physical education [5,6,7,8,9].
When it comes to inclusive education, teachers face a significant challenge of its implementation into their mainstream PSE classes, which often results in their frustration or failure to accommodate the needs of pupils with disabilities. Learner diversity with different physical or mental disabilities, safety issues, and appropriateness of exercise in order not to cause any harm should be accounted for [10,11].
Although inclusion is a widely discussed topic in Slovakia, it faces some problems, such as noncorresponding changes being made in its implementation into practice or a lack of personnel—qualified teachers and teachers’ assistants—who would be capable of introducing inclusive education in their lessons. Physical and sports education seems to be even more challenging when it comes to inclusion of pupils with disabilities as it does not receive as much attention as the other academic subjects. Physical education teachers’ self-efficacy and attitudes towards the inclusion of pupils with disabilities in mainstream education lessons have been our area of interest as no major studies have been conducted in this field in Slovakia. This research should extend the knowledge of and shine more light on this topic.

2. Literature Review

2.1. Self-Efficacy

In order to better understand the concept of self-efficacy, it is important to explain its relevance to teacher competences (abilities and skills), which are vital for teaching [12]. They might be understood as a set of basic tools of the teacher. Another significant quality is how the teacher perceives themselves and their personal features, self-efficacy included [13]. Self-efficacy represents the own perception of the teacher’s pedagogical competences, which might not be in line with their actual level as they might be perceived either worse or better by the teacher themselves [14].
A sufficient level of self-efficacy is a crucial prerequisite for the successful implementation of inclusive education into general [15] as well as into PE classes. It is important that the teacher who is about to teach or teaches in an inclusive school environment should be convinced to be adequately prepared to teach pupils with disabilities and be in possession of the required professional competences [16].
The obstacles, mentioned previously, to introduce inclusive education into PSE classes are closely related to insufficient teacher training and guidance in inclusive education, which impacts teachers’ self-efficacy [17]. A lack of teacher’s self-efficacy is one of the main barriers of successful introduction of inclusive education [18,19].
Teachers’ self-efficacy shapes and influences the choice of activities and settings and impacts their effort to adapt and learn new skills once those activities are started [20]. If the teacher perceives their professional competence to be at a higher level, they are bound to fully execute their professional competences to deliver better teaching performance to pupils’ learning [13], even to pupils with disabilities [21]. On the other hand, the teacher cannot deliver the appropriate teaching performance if they perceive their beliefs about their own ability or capacity to be at a lower level, not their actual ability or capacity; thus, they cannot perform well, due to the low level of self-efficacy [14].

2.2. Attitudes

If teachers feel they are inadequately trained to work with pupils with disabilities, it significantly influences their attitudes towards inclusive education [22]. The low level of self-efficacy together with their attitudes becomes determinant factors of whether or not inclusive education will be successful [6,15,23,24,25].
The change in teachers’ attitudes towards pupils with special needs is closely related to historical and societal development [26] of the perception of people with such needs around the world. Various studies have identified attitudes towards people with special needs as a dominant factor that influences their successful inclusion into society. As a result, many specialists have conducted studies about the attitudes towards inclusion of pupils with disabilities into mainstream education since then. The first group to identify attitudes influencing the successful introduction of inclusive education is the teachers whose self-efficacy and beliefs have been proven essential.
Large research was conducted in 2011, in which 26 studies investigating teachers’ attitudes towards inclusive education and influential factors of the inclusion of pupils with special needs into mainstream schools were analysed [27]. The results of the research showed that the majority of teachers’ attitudes towards inclusive education were indecisive or negative. Moreover, the teachers did not believe in their capability to teach pupils with special needs. In addition, studies investigating behavioural factors showed teachers’ negative or neutral behaviour towards pupils with disabilities.
At the beginning, the studies analysing teachers’ attitudes towards inclusion of pupils with disabilities into mainstream education were undertaken in general education; however, new instruments were developed gradually to enable research in specific environments of various school subjects, including physical education. As it was mentioned previously, inclusion of pupils with disabilities into regular physical education is challenging for PE teachers due to safety concerns. The group of PE teachers was confronted with pupils with disabilities placed in their regular classes without having researched whether the teachers felt prepared for inclusive education or not [17]. More researchers abroad [5,17,24,28,29,30] carried out studies about the attitudes of PE teachers towards pupils with disabilities and inclusive PE, whose findings shed more light on the attitudes as well as factors which had a significant impact on them.
Foreign studies identified the influence of several identical factors [17] on the level of teachers’ self-efficacy and their attitudes, such as gender [17,31], age [32], previous experience with teaching pupils with disabilities, the length of teaching experience, and professional development courses aimed at working with PWD [17,31,33,34].
Based on the previous research, the investigation of the level of perceived self-efficacy and attitudes of PE teachers towards inclusion of pupils with disabilities in regular PSE classes in Slovakia was carried out in order to find out whether any significant differences in the results appeared according to the length of teaching experience, practical experience with pupils with disabilities, participation in APE courses, types of disability, as well as whether there was a significant relationship between the level of self-efficacy and PE teachers’ attitudes.

3. Materials and Methods

3.1. Participants and Procedure

The study group consisted of 253 in-service PE teachers in Slovakia, of whom 125 were male and 128 were female. The selected teachers worked in primary and secondary schools (general secondary schools, and comprehensive and vocational schools) from all regions in Slovakia. The age range of participants was 22–61 years (M = 40.5; SD = 10) and teaching experience ranged from 1 to 30 years (M = 14.6; SD = 10.9). Table 1 shows demographic characteristics of the participants as well as their teaching experience, participation in APA/APE courses, and the support of an assistant teacher.
The study was conducted online with the use of Google Forms during the COVID-19 pandemic from March to August 2021 owing to imposed restrictions by the government to physical access to schools. Not only were all visitors banned from visiting schools, but pupils and teachers were also not allowed to come to school physically, due to school closure. Because of this, the teachers were contacted via several online communication platforms. The main means of communication used was an email, which was sent directly to school principals with the request to forward the email to their PE teachers. Then, the special interest groups for PE teachers on the social media site Facebook were used to distribute the form. All potential respondents were advised of the purpose of the study and asked to give consent with their participation in the study. The participants of the study were selected based on criteria: first, being teachers of primary or secondary schools from various regions in Slovakia; secondly, teaching physical and sports education; finally, having given consent with their participation. All respondents filled in the questionnaires voluntarily and anonymously. This scientific research was approved by the Ethics Commission of the Faculty of Physical Education and Sport of Comenius University in Bratislava under number 9/2019.

3.2. Description of the Instrument

As the study was focused on two variables (self-efficacy and attitudes), two different instruments were used to obtain data.

3.2.1. Self-Efficacy Instrument

The Czech version of the questionnaire Self-Efficacy Scale for Physical Education Majors towards the Children with Disabilities (SE-PETE-D-CZ) [31] was used as a self-efficacy instrument. Cronbach’s alpha reliability for all instrument items showed good values of reliability in subscales α for physical disabilities (PD) = 0.87 and α for visual impairment (VI) = 0.90 and an acceptable reliability in subscale α for intellectual disabilities (ID) = 0.76 [31]. SE-PETE-D measures pre-service and in-service PE teachers’ self-efficacy towards the inclusion of pupils with disabilities (PD; VI; ID) in regular PE classes in mainstream education. SE-PETE-D-CZ consists of four main parts, of which three of them are self-efficacy subscales and one of them is designed to obtain demographic data of respondents. The first three parts are designed to obtain data by a description of the pupil’s particular disability, which is then followed by statements related to the pupil’s disability. The statements are focused on how the respondent feels about modification of the lesson curriculum, adaptation of the teaching experience, securing the safety of all pupils, and the ability to provide instruction to intact pupils in order to co-operate and help pupils with disabilities engaged in various types of lesson activities (practice, assessment, competition, etc.).
The total number of self-efficacy scale items of SE-PETE-D-CZ is 25 in all subscales (ID; PD; VI). The ID subscale consists of 6 items, the PD subscale contains 10, and the VI subscale 9 items. The 5-point Likert scale was used to rate the degree of confidence as follows: 1—no confidence, 2—low confidence, 3—moderate confidence, 4—high confidence, and 5—complete confidence.
The Czech scale SE-PETE-D-CZ was translated into the Slovak language following the back-translation procedure [35]. Two interpreters A and B translated the Czech version of the questionnaire independently. Then, another two interpreters (C and D) translated the questionnaire from Slovak into the Czech language. The translated Czech version was compared with the original one whose concordance was proven by Cronbach alpha reliability values (ID = 0.89; PD = 0.94; VI = 0.94)

3.2.2. Attitudes Instrument

To determine the PE teachers attitudes towards inclusion of pupils with disabilities in regular PSE lessons, the Physical Educators’ Attitude Toward Teaching Individuals with Disabilities III was used [36]. The questionnaire was validated by Folsom-Meek a Rizzo [6] who confirmed its reliability using Cronbach’s alpha (α = 0.88 for the total scale and α = 0.71 or greater for each of the disability subscales). The first part of the questionnaire contains 12 statements with embedded blanks and assesses attitudes towards teaching pupils with disabilities in regular PE classes and the anticipated behaviour in inclusive PE. The questionnaire measures three factors: (a) outcomes of teaching pupils with disabilities in regular PE classes, (b) effects on pupils’ learning, and (c) the need for more academic preparation to teach pupils with disabilities [6]. Statements in the English language version of the questionnaire contain 4 types of disabilities: emotional/behavioural disorder, special learning disability, mild-moderate intellectual disability, and moderate-severe intellectual disability. Respondents fill the disability type in the blanks in statements, such as “Teaching students labelled ________ in my GPE classes will motivate nondisabled students to learn to perform motor skills.” Then, a 5-point Likert scale (1 = strongly disagree, 2 = disagree, 3 = undecided, 4 = agree, and 5 = strongly agree) for respondents is below each statement to rate their attitudes towards pupils with various disabilities. Out of 12 statements, 6 statements are negatively phrased (5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10) and 6 of them are phrased positively (1, 2, 3, 4, 11, and 12). In order to obtain valid data, negatively phrased items’ scores needed to be reversed [6].
The utility of the PEATID-III questionnaire is in its flexibility as it enables the analysis of attitudes towards pupils with various types of disabilities without disruption of the internal construct of the original questionnaire [37]. The PEATID-III questionnaire was slightly modified in order to match categories to the SE-PETE-D questionnaire for the purpose of our study. The modification of categories in the PEATID-III questionnaire was analysed by Cronbach’s alpha reliability (α = 0.88) for category items. The new modified categories were pupils with: behavioural disorder, intellectual disability, physical disability, and visual impairment.
The English version of PEATD-III was translated into Slovak language following the back-translation procedure [35] as it was performed with the SE-PETE-D-CZ questionnaire. Two interpreters A and B translated the English version of the questionnaire into the Slovak language independently. Then, another two interpreters (C and D) translated the questionnaire from Slovak into the English language. The new English version of the questionnaire was compared with the original one and showed its high concordance with it.

3.3. Statistical Data Processing

Data obtained from questionnaires were processed and evaluated with the use of basic statistical descriptive methods in SPSS Statistics v. 25.0. The descriptive statistical methods used were the percentage (%), average (M), and standard deviation (SD). The normality distribution was calculated by the Kolmogorov–Smirnov test. Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was used to verify the internal consistency of instruments (questionnaires) used in the research. In order to compare the level of self-efficacy and attitudes of PE teachers based on various variables (the length of teaching experience, previous experience with teaching pupils with disabilities, previous participation in APA/APE courses, and type of pupils’ disability), the Mann–Whitney U test, Kruskal–Wallis test, as well as the calculation of effect size (r) were used. The effect size (r) was evaluated as follows: ≤0.30 = very small; 0.30–0.50 = small; 0.50–0.70 = medium; 0.70–0.90 = large; ≥0.90 = very large [38]. Kendall’s coefficient of concordance was used to assess the correlation between the level of PE teachers’ self-efficacy, their attitudes, and the length of their teaching experience. The level of self-efficacy and attitudes were assessed by Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient. The interpretation of the correlation was as follows: 0.01–0.19 = zero; 0.20–0.29 = negligible; 0.30–0.39 = moderate; 0.40–0.69 = strong; ≥0.70 = very strong [39]. The level of statistical significance to reject the null hypothesis was set at p < 0.05.

4. Results

The results showed the difference in researched variables (self-efficacy and attitudes) according to the length of teaching experience, previous experience with pupils with disabilities, participation in APA/APE courses, types of pupils’ disability, as well as correlation between the level of self-efficacy and PE teachers’ attitudes.

4.1. Years of Teaching Experience

The Kruskal–Wallis test did not confirm a statistically significant difference among the evaluated variables, self-efficacy and attitudes, according to the length of teaching experience. Table 2 shows moderate levels of PE teachers’ self-efficacy within the length of teaching experience under 5 years and 6–15 years of experience, while a high self-efficacy was clear among teachers with 26 and more years of teaching experience, which suggests a high confidence in their own pedagogical competence with teaching pupils with disabilities. A moderate self-efficacy was observed in a group of teachers with 16–25 years of experience. A small effect size was observed in the relationship between the length of teaching experience and PE teachers’ self-efficacy. As for the relationship between attitudes and the length of teaching experience, neutral attitudes without statistical significance were observed.

4.2. Experience with Pupils with Disabilities

Significant differences were found in both variables according to previous experience with teaching pupils with disabilities, Table 3. Teachers with previous teaching experience with PWD achieved a higher average score of self-efficacy with the level of statistical significance at p < 0.01 and of attitudes with the significant difference at p < 0.05 in comparison to teachers without the experience. However, the effect size of the relationship of previous teaching experience with pupils with disabilities was very small in regard of teachers’s self-efficacy as well as their attitudes.

4.3. Participation in Adapted Physical Education (APE) Courses

Significant differences were found in self-efficacy and attitudes variables in connection to participation in Adapted Physical Education (APE) courses, Table 4. Teachers who took an academic or professional development APE course achieved higher scores in self-efficacy (p < 0.05) and also in attitudes (p < 0.05) in comparison to those who did not participate in an APE course. Both cases showed a weak strength in effect size. The average score of self-efficacy showed that teachers’ confidence in their own pedagogical competence is moderate. When it comes to attitudes, the score represented the prevalence of neutral attitudes.

4.4. Type of Pupils’ Disabilities

To compare both variables from the point of view of the type of pupils’ disability, significant differences were found in the relationship with both self-efficacy (p < 0.05) as well as attitudes (p < 0.01), Table 5. A high confidence was observed in teachers’ self-efficacy and ID pupils. A moderate level of confidence in teachers’ self-efficacy was found in teaching pupils with PD and VI. Although the most positive attitudes were found toward pupils with PD, their value was neutral.

4.5. Correlation between Self-Efficacy and Attitudes

Table 6 shows the relationship between teachers’ self-efficacy and their attitudes. Spearman’s correlation showed a significantly positive moderate correlation between them.

5. Discussion

The aim of this study was to investigate the level of self-efficacy and attitudes of PE teachers in Slovakia towards teaching pupils with disabilities in regular physical and sport education classes in mainstream education and compare their levels from different points of view (years of teaching experience, experience with pupils with disabilities, participation in APE courses, and type of pupils’ disability).
The study found that Slovak teachers have the least experience with pupils with VI and the most experience with pupils with BD. The reason for a lack of experience with pupils with VI might be that a few pupils with visual impairment are included in mainstream primary and secondary education in Slovakia, based on the statistical data, as it was also confirmed by the teachers’ responses.
Adopted physical education courses were not part of the pre-service education for the majority of teachers (more than 75%), so this can be the reason why they lack a theoretical and practical educational background for working with pupils with disabilities.
Teaching pupils with disabilities is challenging for PE teachers, so the respondents were asked whether they had an assistant teacher available in their PSE lessons to help with such pupils or not. Out of all participants of the study, only 14% were helped by an assistant teacher. The figure seems to be interesting as based on the statistical data provided by the Ministry of Education, Science, Research and Sport of the Slovak Republic, there are a significant number of teachers’ assistants at schools’ disposal; however, they supposedly help classroom teachers of other subjects but physical education.
Self-efficacy and attitudes towards pupils with disabilities as researched in our as well as other studies significantly influence the introduction of inclusive education in mainstream education [15,17,24,25]. The studies have found that both variables, self-efficacy and attitudes towards pupils with disabilities, are significantly influenced by several factors, such as the length of teaching experience, experience with pupils with disabilities, participation in APE courses, and the type of pupils’ disabilities.

5.1. Length of Teaching Experience

The length of teaching experience is one of the significant factors influencing the level of self-efficacy and also teachers’ attitudes towards pupils with disabilities. Our study and similar foreign studies have not found significant differences based on the length of teaching experience [40,41]. On the other hand, several studies have found that teachers with a higher length of teaching experience during which they have gained more experience with various types of pupils’ disabilities achieved higher levels of self-efficacy than their less experienced colleagues [42,43].
When it comes to attitudes, the findings are usually opposite as teachers with a higher length of teaching experience have more negative attitudes towards pupils with disabilities than their less experienced counterparts [44,45]. One of the reasons supporting this fact might be that younger teachers might have experienced inclusive education as pupils or they have been growing up with an awareness of inclusion context in their real life. Another fact worth mentioning could be that some of the teachers were introduced to the inclusion of pupils with disabilities during their pre-service training so they are more open-minded towards it and accept changes connected to it [17].

5.2. Experience with Pupils with Disabilities

Previous experience with teaching pupils with disabilities is another significant factor influencing the level of self-efficacy [31,33,40,41,42,46] and teachers’ attitudes towards pupils with disabilities positively according to many long-term studies [1,17,41,42,43,44]. Our study found that PE teachers with previous experience with teaching pupils with disabilities achieved a significantly higher level of self-efficacy and more positive attitudes than their counterparts with less such experience. Based on self-efficacy theory [47], it is clear that particular specific experiences influence the self-efficacy perception of PE teachers. Those PE teachers, whose experience with the inclusion of pupils with disabilities has been positive in terms of successful problem-solving connected to such pupils’ performance or learning new skills, have improved their own perception of teaching mastery and have a more positive approach. On the other hand, the teachers with negative experience, such as a failure to address various situations, have shown a lack of competence, frustration, and low intention to include pupils with disabilities in their regular PSE. Thus, based on the evidence, PE teachers should feel confident to be capable of their own teaching adaptation to inclusion, which requires successful previous experience with pupils with disabilities [27,44].
Most authors who found supporting evidence of the influence of previous experience based their findings on the theory called “contact hypothesis” [48], which suggests that the number and type of contact with people with disabilities are related to its subsequent effect. Thus, it is presumable that teachers with previous experience with pupils with disabilities will be more open-minded and positive when it comes to inclusion and are highly likely to include such pupils in their regular PE classes [42]. What should be taken into further consideration is that the level of contact is not only dependent on its quantity, but also on its quality, which makes it difficult to measure [17]. The frequency and quality of contact with pupils with disabilities correlate positively with their attitudes towards such pupils [49].

5.3. Participation in Adapted Physical Education (APE) Course

In our study, participation in Adapted Physical Education (APE) courses in academic or professional education was observed as another one of the determinant factors influencing the level of self-efficacy and PE teachers’ attitudes. Findings of other foreign studies in this area of interest state the fact that PE teachers who took an APE course in academic or professional education achieved a higher level of self-efficacy and more positive attitudes in comparison with teachers who did not take such a course. Pre-service teacher training in the area of inclusion is a very significant predictor of teachers’ self-efficacy perception of teaching pupils with disabilities [50] and influences it mostly positively. A higher level of self-efficacy from the point of pre-service teacher training was proven by several studies [34,42,46,50,51,52]. Based on Bandura’s theory [47], in order to increase self-efficacy, specific training and knowledge of the field of disability and inclusion itself are determinant [53]. Teachers with adequate academic or professional training will be adequately prepared to teach pupils with disabilities in regular classes, which is related to their level of self-efficacy [44]. Professional development courses of in-service PE teachers on inclusion can contribute significantly to the increase in self-efficacy level [54]. In this case, it was pointed out that education itself does not have such an effect on the growth of teachers’ self-confidence when working with pupils with disabilities without practical experience or contact with them. In order to grow self-confidence in this field, courses combining theoretical with practical work and contact should bring desired outcomes [41,55]. Thus, such experience could increase teachers’ intention to implement inclusive PE. Teachers could feel more capable to face difficult challenges connected to it. Similarly, academic or professional education in the field of disability affects attitudes as well as the level and the amount of knowledge of PE teachers about pupils with disabilities significantly [7,37].

5.4. Type of Pupils’ Disability

Our findings are in accordance with findings of similar studies focused on the field of physical education in which less positive attitudes of PE teachers towards inclusion of pupils with BD in regular PSE classes were found [7,56]. The reason for this might be the fact that these pupils might behave unpredictably so they are more difficult to be organised and managed than the others [7]. As the teachers in our study had most practical experience with pupils with BD, their scores in attitudes towards inclusion of pupils with BD were the lowest. Other studies showed more negative attitudes towards pupils with PD due to challenges connected with their inclusion in physical activities in comparison with pupils with other disabilities [41]. Although pupils with PD need more assistance or specific mobility aids at their disposal, such as a wheelchair or crutches, it is highly unlikely that they will exhibit unacceptable or disruptive behaviour during the lesson [57,58,59].
On the whole, various studies’ findings indicate that attitudes of PE teachers towards inclusion are more favourable for pupils with mild disabilities as teaching them is not so different from the intact ones. Moreover, planning the lesson and the preparation of teaching aids are not as demanding as planning lessons with pupils with severe disabilities [7,56]. Studies conducted outside a school environment indicate that the level of attitudes depends on the particular type of disability [60] when more positive attitudes have been found towards people with VI, deaf people, and paralyzed people than towards people with ID [61].

5.5. Correlation between Self-Efficacy and Attitudes

Our study found a significantly positive correlation between self-efficacy and attitudes of PE teachers with a moderate size effect. The existence of a positive correlation between self-efficacy and PE teachers attitudes towards inclusive PE was also proven by other studies [40,42,50,62]. With regard to our and various foreign studies’ findings, it can be concluded that a teacher’s self-efficacy perception positively influences their attitudes towards the inclusion of pupils with disabilities in regular PE classes and vice versa. The findings might be understood [42] thanks to the Social Learning Theory [47] as well as the Theory of Planned Behaviour [63]. Both theories suggest that teachers who perceive a higher control of the situation have a tendency to feel less threatened and foresee more opportunities in inclusion than barriers. The higher the level of self-efficacy and beliefs in pedagogical competences to implement an inclusive approach and include pupils with disabilities in regular PSE classes, the more positive are the observed attitudes towards inclusion and pupils with disabilities [62]. Even though the correlation in our study between self-efficacy and attitudes was found moderate, we do believe that in terms of the increasing trend of inclusive education, effective interventions should be made to encourage the growth of teachers’ self-confidence together with their attitudes towards pupils with disabilities, which are significant predictors of successful inclusive education [6,23,24,25].

6. Conclusions

The successful introduction of inclusive education into physical and sports education is mostly dependent on the sufficient level of teachers’ self-efficacy during its implementation and their attitudes towards pupils with disabilities. Our study’s findings show an actual level of self-efficacy and attitudes towards teaching pupils with disabilities in physical and sports education in Slovakia and their differences from the points of view of the length of teaching experience, previous practical experience with pupils with disabilities, previous participation in APA/APE courses, and the type of pupils’ disability.
A higher level of self-efficacy was found among PE teachers with practical experience with pupils with disabilities, previous participation in APA/APE courses, and teaching experience with pupils with disabilities. More positive attitudes were found among teachers with practical experience with pupils with disabilities, previous participation in APA/APE courses, and experience towards pupils with disabilities. A moderate positive relationship between the level of self-efficacy and attitudes was also found.
Our study found that regardless of having taken an APE course in pre-service education by most PE teachers involved in the study, the practical part of the course was not the part of the course. As a result, we recommend that universities preparing PE teachers adapt their programmes in order to teach future PE teachers in how to work with pupils with various types of disabilities, both theoretically and practically, in order to increase the quality of PE teachers training. Moreover, it is necessary to target in-service PE teachers and provide professional development APE courses to improve the efficiency of inclusion of pupils with disabilities in mainstream schools.
Researchers of this study are aware of several limitations that stem from the inability to access more teachers due to the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic, the imposed restrictions on schools, and the means of communication which had to be used in order to obtain data. The first limitation to be considered is the low number of research participants and low percentual response rate. This might have been caused by the questionnaires’ distribution via email to school principals, not directly to physical education teachers, and via social media special interest groups. It is highly likely that emails were not forwarded to teachers and not all teachers use social media or teachers were not participants of special interest groups through which the questionnaires were distributed. The second limitation was the process of filling-in the questionnaires without a personal contact with researchers who might elaborate on the understanding of some questions. The last limitation is seen in analysing the self-efficacy and attitudes on hypothetical situations regarding the inclusion of pupils with disabilities in regular physical and sports education which may not reflect the actual state.
Further research should aim at a more detailed analysis of the impact of participation in APA/APE courses or other courses in this field on PE teachers’ self-efficacy and their attitudes towards the inclusion of pupils with disabilities in physical and sports education. The research should focus on the number of courses teachers participate in, their quality, content, and form as the proper theoretical and practical training in this field has a significant influence on the level of PE teachers’ self-efficacy and their attitudes towards inclusion of pupils with disabilities in regular physical and sport education. Properly trained teachers with positive attitudes are vital for ensuring rights for pupils with disabilities for equity in physical and sports education.

Author Contributions

Conceptualization, M.P. (Michal Průžek) and B.A.; methodology, M.P. (Michal Průžek) and B.A.; software, M.P. (Michal Průžek); validation, M.P. (Michal Průžek) and M.P. (Monika Popluhárová); formal analysis, M.P. (Michal Průžek) and M.P. (Monika Popluhárová); investigation, M.P. (Michal Průžek) and B.A.; resources, M.P. (Michal Průžek) and B.A.; data curation, M.P. (Michal Průžek) and B.A.; writing—original draft preparation, M.P. (Michal Průžek); writing—review and editing, B.A. and M.P. (Monika Popluhárová); language supervisor, M.P. (Monika Popluhárová); visualization, M.P. (Monika Popluhárová); supervision, B.A.; project administration, B.A.; funding acquisition, B.A. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Funding

The study was supported by The Scientific Grant Agency of the Ministry of Education, Science, Research and Sport of the Slovak Republic (VEGA) with number 1/0523/19. It was titled “Physical and Sports Education and its Quality and Potential in Promoting Health from the Perspective of Pupils, Teachers and Parents”.

Institutional Review Board Statement

This scientific research was approved by the Ethics Com-mission of the Faculty of Physical Education and Sport of Comenius University in Bratislava under number 9/2019.

Informed Consent Statement

All participants participating in the research were informed that by filling out an anonymous questionnaire, they agree to be included in the study.

Data Availability Statement

Data available on request from the authors.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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Table
Table 1. Demographic characteristics of the participants.
Table 1. Demographic characteristics of the participants.
Demographic VariablesN%
All PE Teachers253100
Male12549.0
Female12851.0
Age
under 30 years6325.0
31–40 years6925.0
41–50 years7430.0
over 50 years4718.0
Years of Teaching Experience
under 5 years7529.6
6–15 years6826.9
16–25 years6626.1
over 254417.4
Experience in teaching pupils with BD
Yes22589.0
No2811.0
Experience in teaching pupils with ID
Yes13854.0
No11546.0
Experience in teaching pupils with PD
Yes13252.0
No12148.0
Experience in teaching pupils with VI
Yes6626.0
No18774.0
Participation in APA/APE courses
Yes6225.0
No19175.0
Support of assistant teacher
Yes3614.0
No21786.0
Legend: N = number of respondents; % = percent; PE = physical education; APA = adapted physical activity; APE = adapted physical education; BD = behavioural disorder; ID = intellectual disability; PD = physical disability; VI = visual impairment.
Table
Table 2. Differences in the self-efficacy and attitudes according to the length of teaching experience.
Table 2. Differences in the self-efficacy and attitudes according to the length of teaching experience.
VariablesLength of
Teaching Experience		Mean (SD)Hpr
Self-efficacyunder 5 years3.43 (0.68)7.780.050.02
6–15 years3.43 (0.63)
16–25 years3.21 (0.74)
26 years and more3.45 (0.71)
Attitudesunder 5 years3.22 (0.41)1.190.330.00
6–15 years3.12 (0.44)
16–25 years3.09 (0.43)
26 years and more3.15 (0.45)
Legend: years = years; SD = standard deviation; r = effect size.
Table
Table 3. Differences in the self-efficacy and attitudes according to the experience with PWD.
Table 3. Differences in the self-efficacy and attitudes according to the experience with PWD.
VariablesExperience with PWDMean (SD)Upr
Self-efficacyNo experience3.19 (0.59)5278.500.00 **0.17
With experience3.45 (0.72)
AttitudesNo experience3.04 (0.45)5415.000.02 *0.15
With experience3.19 (0.43)
Legend: PWD = pupils with disabilities; SD = standard deviation; r = effect size; * = p < 0.05; ** = p < 0.01.
Table
Table 4. Differences in the self-efficacy and attitudes according to the participation in APE courses.
Table 4. Differences in the self-efficacy and attitudes according to the participation in APE courses.
VariablesParticipation in APE CourseMean (SD)Upr
Self-efficacyNo participation3.33 (0.67)4739.500.02 *0.15
With participation3.53 (0.75)
AttitudesNo participation3.11 (0.44)4711.000.02 *0.15
With participation3.25 (0.37)
Legend: SD = standard deviation; APE = adapted physical education; r = effect size; * = p < 0.05.
Table
Table 5. Differences in the self-efficacy and attitudes according to the type of pupils’ disability.
Table 5. Differences in the self-efficacy and attitudes according to the type of pupils’ disability.
VariablesDisabilityMean (SD)Hpr
Self-efficacyID3.62 (0.71)42.090.00 *0.05
PD3.36 (0.79)
VI3.15 (0.89)
AttitudesID3.09 (0.52)13.000.00 **0.04
PD3.23 (0.46)
VI3.19 (0.44)
Legend: ID = intellectual disability; PD = physical disability; VI = visual impairments; SD = standard deviation; APE = adapted physical education; r = effect size; * = p < 0.05; ** = p < 0.01.
Table
Table 6. Spearman’s correlation results.
Table 6. Spearman’s correlation results.
VariablesSelf-EfficacyAttitudes
Self-efficacy-0.34 **
Attitudes0.34 **-
Legend: ** = p < 0.01.
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Antala, B.; Průžek, M.; Popluhárová, M. Self-Efficacy and Attitudes of Physical Education Teachers towards Inclusion of Pupils with Disabilities. Sustainability 2022, 14, 13292. https://doi.org/10.3390/su142013292

AMA Style

Antala B, Průžek M, Popluhárová M. Self-Efficacy and Attitudes of Physical Education Teachers towards Inclusion of Pupils with Disabilities. Sustainability. 2022; 14(20):13292. https://doi.org/10.3390/su142013292

Chicago/Turabian Style

Antala, Branislav, Michal Průžek, and Monika Popluhárová. 2022. "Self-Efficacy and Attitudes of Physical Education Teachers towards Inclusion of Pupils with Disabilities" Sustainability 14, no. 20: 13292. https://doi.org/10.3390/su142013292

APA Style

Antala, B., Průžek, M., & Popluhárová, M. (2022). Self-Efficacy and Attitudes of Physical Education Teachers towards Inclusion of Pupils with Disabilities. Sustainability, 14(20), 13292. https://doi.org/10.3390/su142013292

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