The Teacher Efficacy for Inclusive Practices (TEIP) Scale: Dimensionality and Factor Structure.
The Teacher Efficacy for Inclusive Practices (TEIP) scale is designed to measure teacher self efficacy to teach in inclusive classrooms. The original study identified three scale factors: efficacy in using inclusive instruction (EII) efficacy in collaboration (EC) and efficacy in managing behavior (EMB) (Sharma et al. 2012) The purpose of our study was to examine the TEIP scale for dimensionality and to cross validate its factor structure for pre service teachers in the context of early childhood education. A bifactor model fit to the data revealed that the TEIP scale is essentially unidimensional, that is, there is one dominant latent factor and the originally found three scale factors (EII, EC, and EMB) represent specific aspects of the general factor of teacher self efficacy to teach in inclusive classrooms. Along with providing validation evidence, these findings have important implications for the scoring on the TEIP scale using classical test analysis or unidimensional item response theory models.