University professors and the inclusion of students with special educational needs in higher education: proposal and validation of a measurement scale

In this paper, we describe the construction and validation process of a new measurement scale, the APTD questionnaire (Accessibility, Processes, Training, Demand), which consists of four factors related to the evaluation of the accessibility of university campus, the inclusive educational actions and processes carried out by university professors in class, the degree of permanent training in attention to diversity and, finally, the training demanded by professors in attention to diversity. To the best of our knowledge, we are not aware of any instruments that measure the response of university professors to the inclusion of students with special educational needs, taking into account these dimensions. The sample was made up of a total of 580 professors from different Faculties of Education of public universities of Andalusia (Spain). The results obtained show agreement among the judges/experts in relation to the clarity, coherence and relevance of the scale of measurement. On the other hand, the validation process carried out concludes that it is a valid and reliable instrument to measure the degree of inclusion of students with special educational needs in universities through the response of university professors.

Automated summary

This paper describes the construction and validation process of a new measurement scale, the APTD questionnaire, which aims to measure the response of university professors to the inclusion of students with special educational needs. The results of the sample testing and validation process indicate that the scale is a valid and reliable instrument for measuring diversity and inclusion in universities.