Social Cognitive Theory Explains Influences on Self-Reported Inclusive Teaching Practices

Students with disabilities make up about 20% of students enrolled in US postsecondary institutions. Physics instructors might support disabled students by providing accommodations. However, challenges might arise when students request and instructors attempt to provide accommodations. Universal design offers an alternative strategy for supporting students with disabilities as instructors are encouraged to build accessibility into their course during the design phase. Social cognitive theory posits that participating in disability-focused training and working with/teaching students with disabilities might influence how instructors view the value of accommodations and inclusive teaching practices. In this study, we administered the Inclusive Teaching Strategies Inventory (ITSI) to investigate physics instructors' self-reported attitudes and actions with accommodations and inclusive teaching practices. We used statistical analysis to explore how participants responded with respect to the type of training they received and their experience working with disabled students and found several significant associations. Here, we discuss the implications of our findings.