Design and Validation of the Primary School Inclusion Questionnaire

Abstract

The transition to inclusive schools is a complex change that implies a constant review of the contextual barriers that generate exclusion and prevent or limit attention to diversity in the classroom. Having instruments that allow schools to review the consolidation of more inclusive practices is essential to guide schools in this transformation. In this article we present the procedure for the design and validation of the questionnaire "Inclusive profile of primary schools", which allows us to identify the level of inclusion of the educational practices developed in schools at three levels (high, medium, and low) and in six dimensions: school organization, inclusive school climate, classroom organization, educational support, community participation, and lifelong learning. A content validation process was carried out with experts and an analysis of the stability of the questions in a pilot application in which 85 schools in Catalonia (Spain) participated. The final version of the instrument was applied to a sample of 615 Catalan schools. We obtained an overview of the level of consolidation of inclusive practices in the participating schools, at the three levels of inclusion proposed. The rigorous procedures used, both in the design and the validation of the questionnaire, make it a useful tool for identifying the inclusive practices that schools are developing, while guiding the process of change of the schools towards inclusion.