Social dominance orientation hinders pre-service teachers’ inclusive teaching intentions: the chain-mediating effect of intergroup anxiety and inclusive attitudes

Abstract

Objectives

Pre-service teachers’ preferences for hierarchy and inequality (reflected in their social dominance orientation) may negatively impact their inclusive teaching intentions. However, how this preference influences their intentions to teach in inclusive classrooms is unknown. This study aimed to test the chain-mediating effect of intergroup anxiety and attitudes toward inclusion between social dominance orientation (SDO) and intentions to teach in inclusive classrooms among Chinese pre-service teachers.

Methods

In total, 582 pre-service teachers were recruited and administered scales that measured SDO, intergroup anxiety related to students with disabilities, attitudes toward inclusion, and inclusive teaching intentions.

Results

(1) Pre-service teachers’ SDO, intergroup anxiety, and attitudes toward inclusion were significantly correlated with inclusive teaching intentions. (2) Intergroup anxiety and attitudes toward inclusion played a chain-mediating role between SDO and inclusive teaching intentions.

Conclusions

Pre-service teachers’ SDO influenced inclusive teaching intentions both directly and indirectly through the mediating role of intergroup anxiety and attitudes toward inclusion.

Keywords:

• Attitudes
• inclusive education
• intentions
• intergroup anxiety
• pre-service teachers
• social dominance orientation

Acknowledgments

We thank all the participants that participated in this study. This work was supported by The Philosophy and Social Sciences Planning Program of Guangdong Province: ‘Study of destigmatization pathways for children with autism spectrum disorder in Mainstream schools’ (Grant No. GD23YJY22).

Data availability statement

Data supporting the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

The funders had no role in study design, collection, analysis and interpretation of data, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.