TEACHERS’ PERCEPTIONS OF SOCIAL JUSTICE IN EDUCATION AND SELF-EFFICACY ON IMPLEMENTATION OF INCLUSIVE PRACTICES

Martha Koutsovasili, Konstantina Katsora, Stylianos Kaprinis

Abstract


Social justice in education refers to the commitment of schools to safeguard the rights of all students, to combat discrimination and inequality, and to provide equitable opportunities in an inclusive environment. The purpose of the study was to explore the correlation between teachers' perceptions of social justice and their self-efficacy in promoting and implementing effective inclusion of all students with disabilities. In addition, the study investigated whether demographic factors and teachers' professional profiles influence their attitudes about social justice and teaching self-efficacy. The research sample comprised of 172 primary and secondary school teachers. For the purposes of the study, the (a) Social Justice Scale - SJS (Torres-Harding, Siers & Olson, 2012), (b) Teaching Students with Disability Efficacy-TSDES (Dawson & Scott, 2013) were utilized. The study concluded that teachers demonstrate positive attitudes towards the implementation of social justice in the educational process. Educators with high levels of social sensitivity demonstrated greater ability to support children with disabilities as well as optimal guidance of all students to facilitate inclusion, and simultaneously, demonstrated greater professionalism in implementing this policy. It also emerged that female educators had more positive attitudes and showed greater sensitivity regarding the importance of implementing social justice, while younger teachers appear to be overall more positive compared to older teachers. The most important factor that influences perceptions and attitudes on social justice is specialized studies in special education. Spearman correlation coefficient showed a strong positive correlation between the positive attitudes of teachers towards social justice and their teaching self-efficacy. Linear regression analysis, showed that perceived social behavioral control and the intention of future social justice implementation are firmly indicative of high effectiveness in effectively promoting and implementing behavioral practices. The study highlights the importance for educational institutions to incorporate social justice education into curricula and promote the use of equitable and effective educational practices to address inequities.

 

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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.46827/ejse.v10i8.5701

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