Is Teacher Stigma Associated with the Delivery of Instructional Supports to Students with Disabilities? by Alexandra Aquilina A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Education in School and Clinical Child Psychology Department of Educational Psychology University of Alberta © Alexandra Aquilina, 2017 TEACHER STIGMA AND SWD ii Abstract The present study is exploratory and was conducted to investigate teachers’ beliefs about the academic potential of students with disabilities (SWD) based on their attributions and potentially stigmatizing views. In addition, the association between these attributions and teachers’ reported likelihood of implementing instructional supports was investigated. Controllability, as described in Attribution Theory, is associated with stigmatizing views and was a variable of focus in the present study. Seven neurodevelopmental disorders were investigated and vignettes were used to depict each hypothetical student. A convenience sampling method was employed and thirty-seven practicing teachers within Canada participated by responding to questions following the vignettes. One-way within- subjects ANOVAs were conducted, using post-hoc comparisons to further investigate significant main effects. The results revealed that when teachers were asked if they believed that the student would demonstrate significant improvement to their academic ability if they received instructional supports, ratings were significantly different depending on the disability. Teacher ratings revealed that when asked about their own likelihood of implementing instructional supports to SWD, there was not a significant difference depending on the disability depicted. Teacher ratings were also found not to be significantly different when asked if each student was not succeeding academically due to lack of effort. However, they were significantly different depending on the disability when asked if they believed that the student was in control of their academic success. Implications for training, practice, and research are discussed. TEACHER STIGMA AND SWD iii Preface This thesis is an original work by Alexandra Aquilina. The research project, of which this thesis is a part, received research ethics approval from the University of Alberta Research Ethics Board under the Study Title: “Is Teacher Stigma Associated with the Delivery of Instructional Supports to Students with Disabilities?”, No. Pro00066553, November 18, 2016. TEACHER STIGMA AND SWD iv Acknowledgments I am immensely thankful to my supervisor, Dr. Damien Cormier, for his constant support and guidance throughout the entire process of this thesis. From developing the initial research idea to completing the final draft, his guidance has been greatly appreciated. Thank you to Dr. Jacqueline Leighton and Dr. Yuanyuan Jiang for being a part of my committee and providing me with valuable feedback. I would also like to thank Qi Guo and Xinxin Zhang from the Centre for Research in Applied Measurement and Evaluation for their help with my research analyses. Finally, I would like to express my profound gratitude to my parents for providing me with unwavering support and encouragement throughout the process of researching and writing this thesis. TEACHER STIGMA AND SWD v Table of Contents Introduction..........................................................................................................................1 Attribution Theory...................................................................................................2 Influence of Teacher Expectations and Attributions................................................3 Teacher attributions and SWD.....................................................................4 Stigma......................................................................................................................6 Stigmatization of children with disabilities.................................................6 Stigma and teachers.....................................................................................6 Stigma and Attribution Theory....................................................................7 Present Study...........................................................................................................7 Method.................................................................................................................................9 Participants.............................................................................................................10 Measure..................................................................................................................11 Procedure...............................................................................................................11 Design and Analysis..............................................................................................13 Results................................................................................................................................14 Teacher Attributions and Locus of Causality..........................................................14 Teacher Attributions and Stability..........................................................................15 Survey Reliability and Validity..............................................................................15 Improvement with Instructional Supports..............................................................16 Likelihood of Implementing Instructional Supports..............................................17 Teacher Attributions and Controllability................................................................18 Control.......................................................................................................18 TEACHER STIGMA AND SWD vi Lack of effort..............................................................................................19 Discussion..........................................................................................................................20 Improvement with Instructional Supports..............................................................20 Likelihood of Implementing Instructional Supports..............................................21 Teacher Attributions Regarding Controllability.....................................................22 Attribution Theory..................................................................................................23 Stigma....................................................................................................................25 Theory of Planned Behaviour................................................................................27 Implications for Training and Practice...................................................................28 Limitations and Implications for Future Research..................................................30 Conclusion.............................................................................................................32 References..........................................................................................................................34 Appendix A........................................................................................................................38 Appendix B........................................................................................................................47 TEACHER STIGMA AND SWD vii List of Tables Table 1...............................................................................................................................15 Table 2...............................................................................................................................17 Table 3...............................................................................................................................17 Table 4...............................................................................................................................18 Table 5...............................................................................................................................19 Table 6...............................................................................................................................19 TEACHER STIGMA AND SWD viii List of Figures Figure 1. Outline of Attribution Theory..............................................................................2 Figure 2. Outline of Results in Relation to Attribution Theory.........................................24 TEACHER STIGMA AND SWD 1 Is Teacher Stigma Associated with the Delivery of Instructional Supports to Students with Disabilities? Historically, students with disabilities (SWD) have demonstrated poorer educational outcomes than their peers without disabilities (Haber et al., 2015). Educational supports for SWD have primarily focused on instructional supports but, even with supports, a significant achievement gap continues to exist between SWD and students without disabilities (Haber et al., 2015). Classroom instruction involves far more than teachers simply delivering curricular content. Teachers may be differentiating their instruction to match the individual instructional needs of SWD to ensure that they are providing an inclusive educational environment; however, the extent to which this is occurring has yet to be established empirically. The Alberta Teachers’ Association’s guidelines for an inclusive education system suggest that teacher instruction meet the learning needs of all students, including those with various learning difficulties (Alberta Teachers’ Association, 2014). Similarly, Ontario’s Equity and Inclusive Education Strategy outlines the expectation of schools to provide effective instructional practices that account for the various needs of all students, which includes the use of differentiated instruction (The Ontario Public Service, 2014). Student outcomes are significantly influenced by teacher characteristics, such as their interpersonal styles (Alvidrez & Weinstein, 1999). Despite the importance of interpersonal variables, research has not evaluated the relationship between attributions made by teachers about student ability on the likelihood that teachers will differentiate their instruction and provide instructional supports to SWD. If teachers are making misattributions regarding the difficulties of SWD, their likelihood of providing TEACHER STIGMA AND SWD 2 instructional supports to them may be influenced. The purpose of this study is to investigate teachers’ beliefs regarding SWD, specifically those with various neurodevelopmental disorders. Information regarding teachers’ beliefs is based on the attributions they make, as well as the stigmatizing views they hold, regarding various disability types. In addition, the association between these attributions and teachers’ reported likelihood of implementing instructional supports, their beliefs regarding the potential for SWD to respond to instructional supports, as well as their attributions regarding why SWD may not be succeeding academically will be investigated. Teacher attributions and stigmatization regarding SWD, as well as the associated behaviours or reactions, may be explained by Attribution Theory. Attribution Theory Attribution Theory, formulated by Bernard Weiner (1985, 1995), describes the processes by which individuals assign explanations (i.e., attributions) about the causes of outcomes (e.g., events, behaviors) that they experience or witness. As outlined in Figure 1, when individuals experience or witness an outcome, they attribute responsibility based on their understanding of the locus of causality, stability, and controllability of the outcome, which in turn will impact how they react (Weiner, 1985; Weiner, 1995). Attribution Reaction Event, Action, or -Locus of causality -Emotional reaction Behaviour -Stability -Behavioural response -Controllability -Judgment Figure 1. Outline of Attribution Theory. Locus of causality refers to the extent to which one believes that the cause of an event is internal or external to the individual. Stability reflects how much an individual believes