Author: Wing Ying Bianca Chung
Chung, Wing Ying Bianca, 2025 Developing a Pilot Instrument to Assess Factors Influencing Australian Teachers' Intentions to Use Evidence-Based Practices in Autism Education, Flinders University, College of Education, Psychology and Social Work
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Background: Teachers without special education backgrounds or training are increasingly responsible for instructing students with Autism. Research has consistently demonstrated the efficacy of evidence-based practices in special education, yet little is known about general teachers' intention to implement these practices and the factors that motivate their use. Ajzen's Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB)(Ajzen, 1991) suggests that intentions can effectively predict such behaviour and are directly influenced by attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioural control. Nevertheless, no existing instrument measures general teachers’ beliefs – such as intentions (IN), attitudes (AT), subjective norms (SN), and perceived behavioural control (PBC) – regarding the use of EBPs in the Australian context. To address this gap the current study aimed to evaluate and refine a 33-item self-constructed instrument, named ‘Teacher intention toward the use of evidence-based practices’ (TIUE) questionnaire.
Method: This study employed a convergent mixed methods design using online surveys to evaluate and develop the TIUE. Development of the TIUE questionnaire involved three stages: instrument development, alignment check and self-assessment. Participants (experts, n=3; educators, n=2) provided qualitative and quantitative feedback via an online survey adapted from the Question Appraisal System (Willis & Lessler, 1999).
Result: The self-alignment check confirmed that 94% (32/34) of the questionnaire items were aligned to address the guiding research question. Quantitative evaluation indicated that a majority of questions were issue free in the self-assessment (205/ 230, 89%), expert review (69/ 112, 62%) and teacher group (106 /118, 89%). Qualitative results indicated areas for improvement in clarity, inclusivity, and effectiveness. A total of 24 changes were made, the final questionnaire retains 33 distinct questions.
Conclusion: This research developed, evaluated, and refined the TIUE questionnaire. Underpinned by the TPB, the TIUE was designed to assess general education teachers' intentions to use EBPs for students with Autism. The refined questionnaire provides a foundation for future research to investigate TPB-related factors, potentially supporting inclusive education and promoting EBP implementation among mainstream teachers. Further validation through a larger pilot study and psychometric analysis is required.
Keywords: general teacher, inclusive education, students with Autism, evidence-based practices, theory of planned behaviour
Subject: Education thesis
Thesis type: Masters
Completed: 2025
School: College of Education, Psychology and Social Work
Supervisor: Dr Emma Grace