Developing a Scale to Investigate In-Service Special Education Teacher Efficacy for Serving Students from Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Backgrounds

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to describe the development of the scale designed to investigate special education teachers’ perceptions of their culturally responsive teaching (CRT) efficacy for teaching students from culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) backgrounds. The scale includes three components: collective teacher efficacy, CRT self-efficacy, and CRT outcome-efficacy. Data were gathered and performed the following analyses: descriptive analysis, factor analysis, and Person’s r corrections. The results of Cronbach’s alpha for all three scales were considered adequate. The three-factor loading for CTE, the three-factor loading for CRT self-efficacy, and the two-factor loading for CRT outcome-expectancy were found. This newly developed scale of factor-loading findings were not consistent with previous studies because of differences in items, target populations, and focus of the current study. The findings of factor loadings for three scales Increases in special education teachers’ ratings of the school’s ability to provide adequate service for CLD students with disabilities were associated with increases in their perceptions of their ability to provide CRT instruction, and their perceptions about the connection between CRT practices and students’ learning outcomes, although these correlations were low (r = .24, .16, respectively)