Development and validation of a questionnaire to listen to the voices of families of students enrolled in specialized open classrooms

Abstract

Within the framework of Inclusive Education, it is an essential requirement to listen to the voices of the families of students with serious and permanent special educational needs. Understanding their perceptions and evaluation of the schooling process and the educational response offered to their children is necessary in order to encourage them to participate and work together for the improvement and development of inclusion. Precisely, this paper describes the process followed for the design and validation of an instrument aimed at listening to the voices of the families of the students enrolled in the specialized open classrooms and in the development of a research project aimed at evaluating the functioning of the open classrooms as a specific measure of attention to diversity in the Region of Murcia (Spain). The methodology followed the following phases: 1) Review of the scientific literature and initial development of the questionnaire. 2) Validation of content using the expert judgment technique and the introduction of any necessary changes in the instrument. 3) Implementation of the questionnaire with the 215 families. 4) Analysis of statistical reliability and compiling the final version of the instrument. The results show that the questionnaire, EVABIMUR: Voces de las familias, is a valid and reliable instrument, consisting of 48 items distributed in five dimensions. Its coefficient of internal consistency Cronbach alpha is .950. Therefore, it is a valid instrument for listening to the voices of the families of those students enrolled within this specific measure in the different autonomous communities of the Spanish State which collaborate in the construction of Inclusive Education.