University Instructors’ Self-efficacy Belief to Provide Instructional Accommodations for Addressing the Educational Needs of Students with Disabilities in Ethiopian Universities: Implication on Quality of Higher Education

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to assess the role of university instructors and their self-efficacy belief in providing instructional accommodations for addressing the educational needs of students with disabilities through employing a variety of instructional designs and strategies. Accordingly, questionnaires were distributed to a total of 181 university instructors from Jimma, Addis Ababa, Adama and Ambo Universities. Qualitative and Quantitative data were generated and the methods of data analysis were employed to analyze the data. The result indicated that in general instructors have moderate role and fairly strong self-efficacy belief to provide instructional accommodations through utilizing a variety of instructional designs and strategies. Concerning the effect of background variables on instructors’ self-efficacy belief, the result revealed that background variables like location of university, in-service special needs training, and awareness raising training in inclusive training had statically significant effect on instructors’ self-efficacy belief to provide accommodations for students with disabilities in universities. However, back ground variables like gender, age, faculty, total teaching experience, educational status, pre-service Special Needs Education (SNE) course, teaching methodology training, awareness raising training on SNE and experience in teaching students with disabilities do not have a statistically significant effect on instructors’ self-efficacy belief. Furthermore, in assessing the underlying factor structures of self-efficacy belief scale principal component analysis (factor analysis) revealed the presence of four components as underlying factor structure of the sale. Finally, implications of the results in relation to quality of higher education were discussed and recommendations were also indicated.