Self-efficacy of physical education teachers in Chile regarding the inclusion of children and adolescents with disabilities in school settings.

Abstract

In Chile, over the past 8 years, significant strides have been made in public policies regarding the inclusion of children with disabilities (CWD) in the education sector, aligning with the objectives of sustainable development by 2030 and the "Education for All" agreement from Kazan 2015. Particularly in physical education, these policies draw heavily from the principles outlined in the 2023 Baku agreement on "Quality Physical Education," which underscores the multifaceted benefits of physical activity on social, cognitive, and educational levels. Consequently, there is a need to develop training programs for physical education teachers (PET) to facilitate the inclusion process. The objectives of the study were to identify the levels of self-efficacy of Physical Education Teachers in Chile to include children with disabilities in the school and analyze the variables of training in inclusion (PT) and previous contact (PC) in the modification of the perception of self-efficacy. A total of 559 teachers of the Chile participated, and the Self-Efficacy Scale for Physical Education Teachers towards Students with Disabilities was applied. The results for self-efficacy were median and high confidence, indicating differences in favor of PC in Women p<.001, η²=.06, Men p<.001, η²=.02, and Overall p<.001, η²=.03 and PT in Women p<.001, η²=.05, Men p<.001, η²=.05, and Overall p<.001, η²=.05. It is also observed It is also observed that there is better self-efficacy for those who had PC and PT p<.001 η²=.12 in Overall. It can be concluded that PT and PC influence the self-efficacy perception of physical education teachers.