Measuring social support perceived by inclusive education teachers in China

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.