Multidimensional Attitudes Toward Preschool Inclusive Education Scale (MATPIES) - An Instrument to Measure Preschool Pedagogical Staff Attitudes Toward Inclusive Education

Teachers' attitudes toward inclusion are described as a relevant predictor for the successful implementation of inclusive education. While most national and international research studies focus on the attitudes of school teachers, there are limited, if any, studies that focus on preschool teachers. This study makes a contribution to research in this field by adapting an instrument to measure teachers' attitudes toward inclusive education to the German context. A multidimensional instrument (Mahat, 2008) was adapted to a German version (Multidimensional Attitudes toward Preschool Inclusive Educational Scale, MATPIES) for preschool pedagogical staff. Using a sample of 1,030 preschool teachers in Germany, analyses indicate that the German-adapted instrument met standards of reliability and validity that were consistent with the original version. Internal consistency for the MATPIES subscales ranged between 0.73 and 0.83, comparable to the Cronbach a values of the original subscales. Consistent with the original version, the intercorrelations of the subscales were of medium to high levels (r = .57 - .66). Significant differences in the attitudes toward inclusive education between preschool pedagogical staff in day care facilities who have different experiences in supporting children with special needs provide additional evidence of the criterion validity of MATPIES. The adapted instrument offers sufficient psychometric evidence to allow its use for the purpose of measuring preschool teachers' attitudes toward inclusive education. Further work measuring the effects of staff development (e.g., workshops on inclusion) in day care facilities on the attitudes of preschool pedagogical staff will provide additional evidence of its reliability and validity.