Einstellungen, Erwartungen und Verhalten von Lehrkräften im Rahmen inklusiver Beschulung

Realising the inclusion of students with special educational needs is a topic concerning school systems worldwide. Teachers’ attitudes towards inclusion are one factor which is discussed to have a key role in the successful implementation of inclusive education. Therefore, this dissertation examines the role of teachers' attitudes towards inclusion. For this purpose, three studies were realised focusing on (a) conceptualizing a valid measurement, (b) effects and (c) possible determinants of teachers’ attitudes towards inclusion. In the first study, the Differentiated Attitudes Towards Inclusion Scale (DATIS) was developed and tested. The DATIS enables the measurement of attitudes with regard to the social and academic consequences of inclusion for students with and without special educational needs. The results of the first study indicate that the DATIS allows a reliable and valid assessment of attitudes towards the inclusion of students with Learning Difficulties (LD) and Emotional and Behavioural Disturbances (EBD) of pre- and in-service teachers of different school types. Two studies based on the Theory of Planned Behavior (Ajzen, 1991, 2005) examined the effects (Study 2) and the role of flexibility as a possible determinant of attitudes (Study 3). In the second study, significant statistical effects of certain aspects of attitudes on the willingness to apply differentiating instruction in class were found. In the third study, there were indications that flexibility is a facilitator regarding inclusive education, which showed both direct statistical effects on individual components of attitudes and indirect statistical effects on the willingness of teachers to support social skills. In both studies, there were differential findings with regard to the different special educational needs. These findings underpin the importance of differentiated measures. These and other practical implications of the results are discussed.