| This quantitative comparative study investigated whether differences existed in teacher self-efficacy, including inclusive pedagogy, classroom management, and collaboration for general education and special education teachers in one southeastern Colorado rural school district. Federal mandates, such as ESSA, ensure that students with special needs are included in the general education classroom at a greater rate and general education teachers need to be prepared to meet the needs of these students. The study was based on Bandura's theory of self-efficacy, the self-perceptions that an individual holds that allows them control over their thoughts, feelings and actions. Higher teacher self-efficacy has been found to be an important factor in effective inclusion implementation.;The Teacher Efficacy for Inclusive Practice (TEIP) Scale was used to measure teacher self-efficacy between general education and special education teachers in one rural Colorado district. Independent samples t-test and one-way ANOVAs were conducted to compare differences for overall self-efficacy toward inclusion as well as for the three subfactors of inclusive pedagogy, classroom management, and collaboration. The findings showed that the special education teachers had higher overall self-efficacy toward inclusion, as well as higher self-efficacy for collaboration, than general education teachers, but there was no significant difference for the subfactors of classroom management or inclusive pedagogy. The findings also showed that the general education teachers scored higher than average on all aspects of the TEIP, but the general education teachers felt less self-efficacious when it came to collaborating with others when needing to address the needs of students with special needs. Based on the findings of this study, recommendations for practice would be to implement strategies that help general education teachers increase their self-efficacy for collaboration. |
