The Attitudes Toward Classroom Inclusion Scale: Factor Structure, Correlates, and Use as an Outcome Measure

• In Event: Marriott Roundtable Session 57
  In Roundtable Session: Surveys in Educational Research

Abstract

The Attitudes toward Classroom Inclusion Scale (ATCI) measures how students view the inclusion of students with intellectual disability (ID) in school. SEM determined the factor structure across three high school samples. Results revealed a bifactor model (General factor, with Positive and Negative factors), with all items loading significantly on the General factor. Correlations between the General factor and visibility and capability of peers with ID confirmed construct validity of the ATCI, along with significant mean differences on gender and knowing a peer with ID from class. The ATCI also demonstrated sensitivity to change in response to participation in an inclusion intervention. The ATCI can be used by educators and researchers alike to assess student attitudes toward inclusion in schools.

Authors

• Holly Jacobs, University of Massachusetts - Boston

• Gary Siperstein, University of Massachusetts - Boston

• Keith F. Widaman, University of California - Riverside