Teacher Self-Efficacy for Inclusive Practices: A Comparative Analysis by Educational Level
Keywords:
Teacher self-efficacy, inclusive education, inclusive practices, teacher training.Abstract
This paper analyzes teaching self-efficacy for inclusive practices across three levels of basic education: preschool, elementary, and secondary. The study addresses the need to understand how this construct manifests differently according to the specific demands of each educational level, considering the dimensions of inclusive instruction, management of disruptive behaviors, and collaboration. A quantitative, non-experimental, and cross-sectional study was conducted with 129 teachers from the municipality of Cajeme, Sonora, selected through non-probabilistic convenience sampling. The Teacher Efficacy for Inclusive Practices (TEIP) scale was administered, and data were analyzed using the Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney U tests. Results reveal statistically significant differences across educational levels in inclusive instruction and management of disruptive behaviors, but not in collaboration. It is concluded that self-efficacy for inclusive practices presents differentiated patterns depending on the educational level and the dimension assessed.
References
American Educational Research Association. (2011). Code of ethics. Educational Researcher, 40(3), 145–156. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X11410403
Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: The Exercise of Control. Freeman.
Bierman, K. L., Stormshak, E. A., Mannweiler, M. D., & Hails, K. A. (2023). Preschool programs that help families promote child social-emotional school readiness: Promising new strategies. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 26(4), 865-879. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10567-023-00444-5
Blewitt, C., O’Connor, A., Morris, H., Nolan, A., Mousa, A., Green, R., Ifanti, A., Jackson, K. L., & Skouteris, H. (2021). “It’s Embedded in What We Do for Every Child”: A Qualitative Exploration of Early Childhood Educators’ Perspectives on Supporting Children’s Social and Emotional Learning. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(4), 1530. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18041530
Burić, I., Jakšić, K., & Balaž, B. (2024). Teacher self‐efficacy and teaching quality: A three‐wave longitudinal investigation. International Journal of Psychology, 59(6), 1317-1325. https://doi.org/10.1002/ijop.13255
Calandri, E., Mastrokoukou, S., Marchisio, C., Monchietto, A., & Graziano, F. (2025). Teacher Emotional Competence for Inclusive Education: A Systematic Review. Behavioral Sciences, 15(3), 359. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs15030359
Cardona-Molto, M. C., Ticha, R., & Abery, B. H. (2020). The Spanish Version of the Teacher Efficacy for Inclusive Practice (TEIP) Scale: Adaptation and Psychometric Properties. European Journal of Educational Research, 9(2), 809-823. https://doi.org/10.12973/eu-jer.9.2.809
Cohen, J. (1988). Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences (2nd ed.). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates
Field, A. (2018). Discovering statistics using IBM SPSS statistics (5th ed.). SAGE Publications.
Forsling, K., & Tjernberg, C. (2023). Intentions and flexibility: Navigating complex literacy practices in primary education. Educational Research, 65(3), 301-319. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131881.2023.2209580
George, D., & Mallery, P. (2016). IBM SPSS Statistics 23 step by step: A simple guide and reference (14th ed.). Routledge.
Hernández-Sampieri, R., & Mendoza, C. P. (2018). Metodología de la investigación: las rutas cuantitativa, cualitativa y mixta (2.ª ed.). McGraw-Hill Education.
Jang, H., & Tan, P. C. (2026). Inclusive education in action: Singapore teachers’ efficacy in early childhood and primary school education. Education 3-13, 54(6), 1453–1466. https://doi.org/10.1080/03004279.2024.2410948
Kauffman, J. M., & Hornby, G. (2020). Inclusive vision versus special education reality. Education sciences, 10(9), 258. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci10090258
Kazanopoulos, S., Tejada, E., & Basogain, X. (2022). The Self-Efficacy of Special and General Education Teachers in Implementing Inclusive Education in Greek Secondary Education. Education Sciences, 12(6), 383. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci12060383
Lakens, D. (2013). Calculating and reporting effect sizes to facilitate cumulative science: A practical primer for t-tests and ANOVAs. Frontiers in Psychology, 4, 1-12. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00863
Matić, I., Škrbić, R., Kerkez, J., & Veselinović, M. (2022). Self-assessment of teacher efficacy in Serbia: Serbian adaptation of the Teacher Efficacy for Inclusive Practice (TEIP) scale. European Journal of Special Needs Education, 38(4), 497-510. https://doi.org/10.1080/08856257.2022.2120333
Nissim, M., & Shamma, F. (2025). Supporting Teacher Professionalism for Inclusive Education: Integrating Cognitive, Emotional, and Contextual Dimensions. Education Sciences, 15(10), 1317. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci15101317
Novocký, M., Orosová, R., & Petríková, K. (2026). Measuring teachers’ self-efficacy in implementing inclusive practices: Adaptation of the TEIP scale and group comparisons. International Journal of Instruction, 19(2), 725-748. https://doi.org/10.29333/iji.2026.19239a
Organización de las Naciones Unidas para la Educación, la Ciencia y la Cultura (2020). Informe de seguimiento de la educación en el mundo 2020: Inclusión y educación: Todos sin excepción. UNESCO. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000374817.locale=en
Özokcu, O. (2018). Investigating Preschool Teachers' Self-Efficacy in Inclusion Practices in Turkey. International Education Studies, 11(9), 79-89. https://doi.org/10.5539/ies.v11n9p79
Pivarč, J. (2026). From Certainty to Doubts?: Self‐Efficacy of Preschool, Primary and Secondary School Teachers in Inclusive Education. European Journal of Education, 61(1), e70438. https://doi.org/10.1111/ejed.70438
Santana González, Y., Torres Rodríguez, O., Torres Estrada, N. L., Suárez Masipp, M. C., & Pérez Cardosa, A. (2025). La influencia de la política educativa en la toma de decisiones: implicaciones para la gestión y la formación universitaria en contextos globalizados. Negonotas Docentes, 25, 84-94. https://doi.org/10.52143/2346-1357.1128
Selenius, H., & Ginner-Hau, H. (2023). A scoping review on the psychometric properties of the teacher efficacy for inclusive practices (TEIP) scale. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research, 68(4), 792 - 802. https://doi.org/10.1080/00313831.2023.2185811
Sharma, U., Loreman, T., & Forlin, C. (2012). Measuring teacher efficacy to implement inclusive practices. Journal of Research in Special Educational Needs, 12(1), 12-21. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-3802.2011.01200.x
Stahnke, R., & Friesen, M. (2023). The subject matters for the professional vision of classroom management: an exploratory study with biology and mathematics expert teachers. Frontiers in Education, 8, 1253459. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2023.1253459
Wyse, D., & Anders, J. (2019). Primary education curricula across the world: qualitative and quantitative methodology in international comparison. In L. Suter, E. Smith, B. Denman (Eds.) Primary education curricula across the world: qualitative and quantitative methodology in international comparison (pp. 342-358). SAGE Publications Ltd. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781526470379.n20
Yada, A., Leskinen, M., Savolainen, H., & Schwab, S. (2022). Meta-analysis of the relationship between teachers’ self-efficacy and attitudes toward inclusive education. Teaching and Teacher Education, 109, 103521. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2021.103521
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Karla Nereyda Romero Félix, Fernando Alfredo Morales Díaz, Guadalupe Buitimea Valenzuela, Lorena Márquez Ibarra
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
CC Reconocimiento-NoComercial-SinObrasDerivadas 4.0
.jpg)
![](https://clustrmaps.com/site/1bhn8" title="Visit tracker"><img src="//www.clustrmaps.com/map_v2.png?d=2WTJsN7QOuRFRD2DOJOZtvZ6v94bxB6RU96I-iXx-_s&cl=ffffff"></a>)
