Psychometric properties of the revised Teachers' Attitude towards Inclusion Scale

This paper presents the psychometric properties of a questionnaire measure which updates and extends Larrivee and Cook’s (1979) Opinions Relative to Mainstreaming Scale in terms of structure, terminology and language. The revised scale was tested using a sample of 106 teachers based in inclusive mainstream schools. Using Principal Component Analysis, a four-factor structure was found for the ‘attitudes towards inclusion’ section of the revised scale: (i) problems of inclusion of SEN children in mainstream classes; (ii) social benefits for all of the inclusion of SEN pupils in mainstream classes; (iii) implications of inclusion for teaching practice; and (iv) implications for addressing the needs of children with SEN. Moderate to good reliability was found for these components (Cronbach’s α: .76 - .86). In conclusion, the updated and revised Teachers’ Attitude to Inclusion Scale (TAIS) shows promise as being a reliable and valid measure for both research and applied purposes.