Development and validation of attitudes toward inclusive education scale among Chinese normal universities students’ attitudes

Inclusive education plays a crucial role in integrating students with special educational needs (SEN) into mainstream schools, where the attitudes of pre-service teachers are pivotal. Despite recognizing the significance of these attitudes, there is currently a gap in understanding the perspectives of students attending normal universities in China regarding inclusive education practices. This study aims to bridge this gap by creating the Chinese version of the Normal Universities Students’ Attitudes Toward Inclusive Education Scale (NUSATIES) and examining its psychometric properties.

In the context of China, this study validated and assessed the reliability of the Chinese adaptation of the NUSATIES among a sample of 4,091 students from normal universities. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was employed to confirm the scale’s structural integrity, discriminant validity, and convergent validity. Additionally, Cronbach’s alpha and composite reliability (CR) were used to evaluate the scale’s internal consistency and reliability.

The findings indicated that the Chinese version of the NUSATIES possessed robust validity and reliability, which comprises three factors (i.e., cognitive, affective, and behavioral intention). The findings revealed that normal university students’ attitudes significantly varied based on specialty; students specializing in special education exhibited more positive attitudes towards inclusive education than those in general education.

These findings indicate that the scale is effective in measuring attitudes toward inclusive education in Chinese-speaking countries. This study significantly contributes to the field by emphasizing the importance of positive attitudes among normal university students in fostering inclusive education and by offering a validated tool for assessing these attitudes.