Measuring social support perceived by inclusive education teachers in China

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Abstract
Social support perceived by inclusive education teachers is seldom empirically investigated, and there are few tools to measure it. This research aims to develop a valid instrument to investigate inclusive education teachers’ social support and to determine the current situation of such support in China. A total of 216 and 367 valid questionnaires from teachers in elementary and junior high inclusive education schools were collected in study 1 and study 2, respectively. The findings indicated that (1) Chinese inclusive education teachers’ social support was represented by a four-factor model with high reliability and validity that included professional, emotional, administrative and material support; (2) teachers received mostly emotional support, followed by administrative support, material support, and then professional support; and (3) demographic variables such as age, length of service, academic qualification, training time, and establishment of a school resource room had significant influences on teachers’ perceived social support. The study contributes to developing a conceptual framework and measurement instrument for Chinese inclusive education teachers’ social support. It provides practical implications for the improvement of current Chinese teacher education programmes and the development of high-quality inclusive education.

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