An investigation of factors impacting on mainstream teachers' beliefs about teaching students with learning difficulties

Educational Psychology

Volumn 29, Issue 2, 2009, Pages 221-238

  Woolfson, Lisa Marks ^a   Brady, Katy ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF STRATHCLYDE   (United Kingdom)

Author keywords

Inclusive education; Learning difficulties; Locus of control; Professional development; Self efficacy

Indexed keywords

EID: 70449640333     PISSN: 01443410     EISSN: 14695820     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1080/01443410802708895     Document Type: Article

References (60)

1. Aitken, L., & West, S. (1991). Multiple regression: Testing and interpreting interactions. Newbury Park, CA: Sage
2. Avramidis, E., Bayliss, P., & Burden, R. (2000). A survey into mainstream teachers' attitudes towards the inclusion of children with special educational needs in the ordinary school in one local educational authority. Educational Psychology, 20, 193-213.
3. Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. New York: W.H. Freeman.
4. Brady, K., & Woolfson, L. (2008). What factors influence teacher attributions for children's difficulties in learning? British Journal of Educational Psychology, 78(4).
5. Campbell, J., Gilmore, L., & Cuskelly, M. (2003). Changing student teachers' attitudes towards disability and inclusion. Journal of Intellectual and Developmental Disability, 28, 369-379.
6. Carr, M., & Kurtz, B. (1991). Teachers' perceptions of their students' metacognition, attributions, and self-concept. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 61, 197-206.
7. Carver, C. (1997). You want to measure coping but your protocol's too long: Consider the brief COPE. International Journal of Behavioural Medicine, 4, 92-100.
8. Carver, C., Scheier, M., & Weintraub, J. (1989). Assessing coping strategies: A theoretically based approach. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 56, 267-283.
9. Chester, M., & Beaudin, B. (1996). Efficacy beliefs of newly hired teachers in urban schools. American Educational Research Journal, 33, 137-148.
10. Clark, M. (1997). Teacher response to learning disability: A test of attributional principles. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 30, 69-79.
11. Clark, M., & Artiles, A. (2000). A cross-national study of teachers' attributional patterns. Journal of Special Education, 34, 77-89.
12. Cook, B., Tankersley, M., Cook, L., & Landrum, T. (2000). Teachers' attitudes toward their included students with disabilities. Exceptional Children, 6, 115-135.
13. Dembo, M., & Gibson, S. (1985). Teachers' sense of efficacy: An important factor in school improvement. Elementary School Journal, 86, 173-184.
14. Dweck, C., Davidson, W., Nelson, S., & Enna, B. (1978). Sex differences in learned helplessness: An experimental analysis. Developmental Psychology, 14, 268-276.
15. Forlin, C. (1995). Educators' beliefs about inclusive practices in Western Australia. British Journal of Special Education, 22, 179-185.
16. Forlin, C., Fogarty, G., & Carroll, A. (1999). Validation of the factor structure of the Interactions with Disabled Persons Scale. Australian Journal of Psychology, 51, 50-55.
17. Fuchs, D., & Fuchs, L. (1994). Inclusive schools movement and the radicalisation of special education reform. Exceptional Children, 60, 294-309.
18. Georgiou, S. (2008). Beliefs of experienced and novice teachers about achievement. Educational Psychology, 28, 119-131.
19. Gething, L. (1991). Interaction with Disabled Persons Scale: Manual and kit. Sydney, Australia: University of Sydney.
20. Gething, L., Wheeler, B., Cote, J., Furnham, A., Hudek-Knezevic, J., Jaroslaw, R., et al. (1997). An international validation of the Interaction with Disabled Persons Scale. International Journal of Rehabilitation Research, 20, 149-158.
21. Ghaith, G., & Yaghi, H. (1997). Relationships among experience, teacher efficacy and attitudes towards the implementation of instructional innovation. Teaching and Teacher Education, 14, 451-458.
22. Hair, J., Jr., Anderson, R., Tatham, R., & Black, W. (1995). Multivariate data analysis with readings. New Jersey: Prentice Hall.
23. Harrison, P., Moore, P., & Ryan, J. (1996). College students' self-insight and common implicit theories in ratings of teacher effectiveness. Journal of Educational Psychology, 88, 775-782.
24. Kagan, D. (1992). Implications of research on teacher beliefs. Educational Psychologist, 27, 65-90.
25. Kurtz, B., Schneider, W., Carr, M., Borkowski, J., & Rellinger, E. (1990). Strategy instruction and attributional beliefs in West Germany and the United States: Do teachers foster metacognitive development? Contemporary Educational Psychology, 15, 268-283.
26. Lazarus, R., & Folkman, S. (1984). Stress, appraisal and coping. New York: Springer.
27. LeRoy, B., & Simpson, C. (1996). Improving student outcomes through inclusive education. Support for Learning, 11, 32-36.
28. Leyser, Y. (2002). Choices of instructional practices and efficacy beliefs of Israeli general and special educators: A cross-cultural research initiative. Teacher Education and Special Education, 25, 154-167.
29. Leyser, Y., Kapperman, G., & Keller, R. (1994). Teacher attitudes toward mainstreaming: A cross-cultural study in six nations. European Journal of Special Needs Education, 9, 1-15.
30. Lindsay, G. (2007). Educational psychology and the effectiveness of inclusive education/ mainstreaming. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 77, 1-24.
31. MacLean, D., & Gannon, P. (1995). Measuring attitudes toward disability: The Interaction with Disabled Persons Scale revisited. Journal of Social Behaviour and Personality, 10, 791-806.
32. Mearns, J., & Cain, J. (2003). Relationships between teachers' occupational stress and their burnout and distress: Roles of coping and negative mood regulation expectancies. Anxiety, Stress and Coping, 16, 71-82.
33. Meijer, C., & Foster, S. (1988). The effect of teacher self-efficacy on referral chance. The Journal of Special Education, 22, 378-385.
34. Minke, K., Bear, G., Deemer, S., & Griffin, S. (1996). Teacher experiences with inclusive classrooms: Implications for special education reform. The Journal of Special Education, 30, 152-186.
35. Mulvihill, B., Shearer, D., & Van Horn, M. (2002). Training, experience and child care providers' perceptions of inclusion. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 17, 197-215.
36. Parasuraman, K. (2006). Variables that affect teachers' attitudes towards disability and inclusive education in Mumbai, India. Disability and Society, 21, 231-242.
37. Pithers, R. (1995). Teacher stress research: Problems and progress. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 65, 387-392.
38. Poulou, M. (2007). Personal teaching efficacy and its sources: Student teachers' perceptions. Educational Psychology, 27, 191-218.
39. Poulou, M., & Norwich, B. (1998, September). Greek teachers' perceptions of children with emotional and behavioural difficulties. Paper presented at the Annual European Educational Research Association Conference, Ljubljana.
40. Poulou, M., & Norwich, B. (2002). Teachers' cognitive, affective and behavioural responses to children with emotional and behavioural difficulties: A model of decision making. British Educational Research Journal, 28, 111-138.
41. Robinson-Whelen, S., Kim, C., MacCallum, R.C., & Kiecolt-Glaser, J.K. (1997). Distinguishing optimism from pessimism in older adults: Is it more important to be optimistic or not to be pessimistic? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 64, 324-332.
42. Romi, S., & Leyser, Y. (2006). Exploring inclusion preservice training needs: A study of variables associated with attitudes and self-efficacy beliefs. European Journal of Special Needs Education, 21, 85-105.
43. Rosenfeld, M., & Rosenfeld, S. (2008). Developing effective teacher beliefs about learners: The role of sensitizing teachers to individual learning differences. Educational Psychology, 28, 245-272.
44. Scheier, M., & Carver, C. (1985). Optimism, coping, and health: Assessment and implications of generalized outcome expectancies. Health Psychology, 4, 219-247.
45. Scheier, M., Carver, C., & Bridges, M. (1994). Distinguishing optimism from neuroticism (and trait anxiety, self-mastery and self-esteem): A re-evaluation of the Life Orientation Test. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 67, 1063-1078.
46. Scruggs, T., & Mastropieri, M. (1996). Teacher perceptions of mainstreaming inclusion, 1958-1995: A research synthesis. Exceptional Children, 63, 59-74.
47. Shaughnessy, M. (2004). An interview with Anita Woolfolk: The educational psychology of teacher efficacy. Educational Psychology Review, 16, 153-179.
48. Soodak, L., & Podell, D. (1993). Teacher efficacy and student problem as factors in special education referral. Journal of Special Education, 27, 66-81.
49. Soodak, L., & Podell, D. (1994). Teachers' thinking about difficult-to-teach students. Journal of Educational Research, 88, 44-51.
50. Soodak, L., Podell, D., & Lehman, L. (1998). Teacher, student and school attributes as predictors of teachers' responses to inclusion. Journal of Special Education, 31, 480-497.
51. Tabachnick, B., & Fidell, L. (2007). Using multivariate statistics (5th ed.). Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
52. Tait, K., & Purdie, N. (2000). Attitudes towards disability: Teacher education for inclusive environments in an Australian university. International Journal of Disability, Development and Education, 47, 25-38.
53. Tollefson, N., & Chen, J. (1988). Consequences of teacher attribution for student failure. Teaching and Teacher Education, 4, 259-265.
54. Tschannen-Moran, M., & Woolfolk Hoy, A. (2001). Teacher efficacy: Capturing an elusive construct. Teaching and Teacher Education, 17, 783-805.
55. Tschannen-Moran, M., Woolfolk Hoy, A., & Hoy, W. (1998). Teacher efficacy: Its meaning and measures. Review of Educational Research, 68, 202-248.
56. Vautier, S., Raufaste, E., & Carious, M. (2003). Dimensionality of the Revised Life Orientation Test and the status of filler items. International Journal of Psychology, 38, 390-400.
57. Ward, J., Center, Y., & Bochner, S. (1994). A question of attitudes: Integrating children with disabilities into regular classrooms? British Journal of Special Education, 21, 34-39.
58. Weiner, B. (1985). An attributional theory of achievement motivation and emotion. Psychological Review, 92, 548-573.
59. Wood, J., & Benton, S. (2005). Attributional responses to students with attention-deficithyperactivity disorder who fail. Teacher Education and Special Education, 28, 153-162.
60. Woolfson, L., Grant, E., & Campbell, L. (2007). A comparison of special, general and support teachers' controllability and stability attributions for children's difficulties in learning. Educational Psychology, 27, 295-306.