School climate, sense of efficacy and Israeli teachers’ attitudes toward inclusion of students with special needs

Abstract

This article examines the effects of school organizational and educational climate, and a teacher’s sense of efficacy, on general education teachers’ attitudes toward inclusion of students with special needs. The sample included 139 teachers from 17 elementary schools in the Northern District of Israel. The results of Pearson correlation and multiple regression analyses indicated that school climate and teachers’ sense of efficacy as well as participation in special education training were positively associated with teachers’ attitudes toward inclusion. Self-efficacy was the single most important factor affecting attitudes. School climate included six factors: supportive leadership; teachers’ autonomy; prestige of the teaching profession; renovations; teachers’ collaboration; and workload. Examination of the intercorrelations among these factors and with attitudes revealed that those teachers who perceived their school as having supportive leadership, encouraged renovations and collaboration but did not threaten teachers’ autonomy, tended to express more positive attitudes towards inclusion.