Date of Award

Spring 2024

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Human Movement Sciences

Committee Director

Justin A. Haegele

Committee Member

Xihe Zhu

Committee Member

Jonna Bobzien

Abstract

Although there are several well used self-efficacy instruments designed to measure PE teachers’ self-efficacy to teach students with disabilities, limitations to these scales exits, such as a narrow focus on integrated instructional placements and an absence of theoretically relevant sources of self-efficacy information built within the scales. These limitations translate to a significant gap in the literature between measuring PE teachers’ self-efficacy and understanding how sources of self-efficacy information interact to shape PE teachers’ self-efficacy beliefs, as well as understanding how different instructional placements may inform efficacy. This dissertation was structured in a two-manuscript approach. The purpose of the first study was to develop and validate a scale designed to measure PE teachers’ self-efficacy and sources of information to teach students with disabilities across different types of instructional placements for PE. The scale was constructed in four phases: (a) item development, (b) content validity, (c) exploratory factor analysis, and (d) confirmatory factor analysis. Data from 268 (172 males; 86 females; five others; five undisclosed) and 169 (105 females; 64 males; one undisclosed) participants was used for exploratory factor analyses and confirmatory factor analyses, respectively. The final instrument comprises 29-items including a 7-item (one factor) self-efficacy scale and an 8-item (two factor) efficacy-relevant information subscale for teaching students with disabilities in an integrated PE placement, as well as a 7-item (one factor) self-efficacy scale and 7-item (two factor) efficacy-relevant information subscale for teaching students with disabilities in a self-contained PE placement. The purpose of the second study was to examine the differences in PE teachers’ self-efficacy to teach students with disabilities across integrated and self-contained classes as well as the association between efficacy-relevant information and PE teachers’ beliefs in their capabilities to teach across each placement. A total of 169 (105 females; 64 males; one undisclosed) in-service PE teachers in the US completed the scale developed in study one as well as a demographic questionnaire. Differences in self-efficacy between placements were tested using analyses of covariance, and associations between variables were explored via structural equation modeling. No significant differences were found between PE teachers’ self-efficacy to teach in an integrated placement compared to a self-contained placement. Further, no distinctions in self-efficacy were found among PE teachers with experience teaching in only integrated or self-contained placements. However, those with experiences in both placements reported a slightly higher self-efficacy to teach in a self-contained placement. Favorable efficacy-relevant information was a direct predictor of PE teachers’ self-efficacy in both integrated and self-contained classes, however, unfavorable efficacy-relevant information had only an indirect prediction on self-efficacy with favorable efficacy-relevant information serving as a mediator. Further research may consider exploring diverse methodological procedures aiming to further connect the impact of efficacy-relevant information on PE teachers’ self-efficacy across instructional placements to extend our understanding of why and how self-efficacy appears consistent across instructional settings.

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DOI

10.25777/133w-yd32

ISBN

9798382773414

ORCID

0000-0002-4327-113X

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