ERIC Number: EJ1368019
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2023-Mar
Pages: 16
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0007-0998
EISSN: EISSN-2044-8279
Available Date: N/A
Challenging but Positive! -- An Exploration into Teacher Attitude Profiles towards Differentiated Instruction (DI) in Germany
Letzel, Verena; Pozas, Marcela; Schneider, Christoph
British Journal of Educational Psychology, v93 n1 p1-16 Mar 2023
Background: Research has highlighted that personal characteristics such as teachers' attitudes play an important role in the implementation of inclusive education. However, there are only a few studies that have shed empirical evidence on the relationship of attitudes and inclusive teaching approaches, such as differentiated instruction. In this vein, the present study tackles this research gap and aims to explore teachers' attitudes specifically towards the inclusive practice of DI in Germany. Aims: The present study aimed to investigate teacher profiles based on their attitudes towards differentiated instruction, as well as further to explore whether teachers differentiated instructional implementation varies between the teacher profiles. Sample: The sample consists of 450 teachers (M[subscript age] = 42.89, SD = 10.48, 65% female), from different school tracks in Germany. Methods A two-step cluster analysis was performed in order to identify teacher attitude profiles concerning their implementation of differentiated instruction. Moreover, an analysis of variance was conducted in order to identify variations in terms of the implementation of differentiated instruction across the three clusters. Results: Results from the cluster analyses indicate three distinct teacher attitude profiles: Cluster 1 'The valuing-teacher', Cluster 2 'The non-valuing-teacher' and Cluster 3 'The challenged-but-valuing-teacher'. Moreover, the findings reveal gender and school track differences between the three teacher attitude profiles. Lastly, an analysis of variance indicated that teachers' differentiated instruction practice varied significantly across the clusters. Conclusions: The findings from the present study indicate that teachers not only perceive the value of DI but also the insufficient resources. Thus, it can be assumed that teachers identify both the 'positive' and the 'negative' aspect of DI, and more importantly, they can recognize both attitude domains towards DI in a similar or different level. Consequently, the results show that attitudes in the context of inclusion cannot be characterised as continuum with two distinct poles.
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Teacher Attitudes, Individualized Instruction, Inclusion, Gender Differences, Teacher Characteristics, Secondary School Teachers
Wiley. Available from: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Tel: 800-835-6770; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: https://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2191/en-us
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Germany
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A