Development of a survey on the activity participation of children with special needs in preschool inclusive education

Abstract

Participation refers to an individual’s psychological and behavioral participation in activities. The activity participation of children with disabilities is an important index to measure preschool inclusive education. This study explored the preparation of a questionnaire suitable for measuring the participation of children with disabilities in inclusive education environments, so as to provide an evaluation tool for researchers and teachers. The study included exploration of the four dimensions of learning participation, life participation, teacher support, and parental attitude of children with disabilities in inclusive education. The research involved kindergarten teachers with inclusive education experience in 10 provinces and 20 cities in China such as Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui, Jilin, Inner Mongolia, Sichuan, Guizhou, Guangxi, Yunnan, and Xinjiang. Questionnaire is filled in the form of voluntary principle and online. The Cronbach’s α coefficient for the total dimension of the questionnaire was 0.950, with coefficients for each sub-dimension ranging from 0.916 to 0.981. The Mplus8.3 software was used to carry out confirmatory factor analysis on the four-factor model. The standardized load of the four sub-dimensions was between 0.88 and 0.95. The load reached the significant level of 0.01, the interpretation rate presents a medium and high level (the interpretation rate is greater than 70%), and the model fits well. Therefore, based on good reliability and validity, this questionnaire can be used to evaluate the activity participation of children with disabilities in preschool inclusive education.