Inclusion in bilingual education: Assessment of the SPI-BE scale for measuring student perceptions of inclusive practices

José Buz; Ramiro Durán-Martínez; Eva González Ortega; Elena Martín-Pastor

Authors

José Buz University of Salamanca https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8526-937X
Ramiro Durán-Martínez University of Salamanca https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8111-9844
Eva González Ortega University of Salamanca (Corresponding author) https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2244-895X
Elena Martín-Pastor University of Salamanca https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8046-7481

Keywords:

Factor analysis, bilingual education, inclusion, primary students, assessment

Agencies: This paper was supported by the Ministry of Innovation and Science of the Spanish Government under Grant PID2020-113956RB-I00.

Abstract

Attention to diversity in the bilingual classroom has become a major challenge that is exacerbated by the lack of tools to measure its implementation in primary education. This study aimed to develop and evaluate the Student Perception of Inclusion in Bilingual Education (SPI-BE) scale to measure the frequency of different inclusive teaching practices as perceived by students. The sample included 2,626 primary students attending 27 bilingual schools in Spain. A modern IRT-related factorial analysis was used to assess the validity and reliability of the SPI-BE scale by focusing on the quality of the scores resulting from different factor solutions rather than on their goodness of fit. Analyses revealed two well-defined and replicable factor structures that justify the use of two partial scores and one total score. Female students, students in the lower grades, students participating in a British Council programme, and students without special educational needs had greater awareness of the use of inclusive teaching practices than other groups of students. It can be stated that the SPI-BE scale has excellent psychometric properties and can be used by researchers and practitioners as an instrument to measure inclusion in bilingual primary schools.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biographies

José Buz, University of Salamanca

José Buz is an Associate Professor in the Department of Developmental and Educational Psychology at the University of Salamanca. He teaches at the Faculty of Education and the Faculty of Psychology. He has published psychometric papers from both the perspective of the item response theory and new developments of factorial analysis. Currently, he is collaborating with the research team of the project EBYAD.

Ramiro Durán-Martínez, University of Salamanca

Ramiro Durán-Martínez is an associate professor in the English Studies Department of the University of Salamanca. He is currently the main researcher of the research project titled La atención a la diversidad en los programas bilingües de educación primaria (EBYAD) funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation. He has published in the areas of English Language Teaching, Intercultural Competence, and Attention to Diversity in Bilingual Education in Spain.

Eva González Ortega, University of Salamanca (Corresponding author)

Eva González Ortega is a Lecturer in the Department of Developmental and Educational Psychology of the University of Salamanca. She is part of the research team of the project EBYAD, which aims to evaluate the degree of educational inclusion of bilingual programs in primary schools from the perspective of the teachers and students, and to contribute to its enhancement through the development of educational resources.

Elena Martín-Pastor, University of Salamanca

Elena Martín-Pastor is an associate professor in the Didactics, Organization and Research Methods of the University of Salamanca. She teaches at the Faculty of Education and the Faculty of Psychology. She is part of the research team of the project EBYAD. She has published in the areas of inclusive education, training teachers and immigrant students.

References

American Educational Research Association (AERA), American Psychological Association (APA), & National Council on Measurement in Education (NCME) (Eds.) (2014). Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing. American Educational Research Association.

Durán-Martínez, R., Martín Pastor, M. E., & Martínez Abad, F. (2020). ¿Es inclusiva la enseñanza bilingüe? Análisis de la presencia y apoyos en los alumnos con necesidades específicas de apoyo educativo. Bordón: Revista de Pedagogía, 72(2), 65-82. https://doi.org/10.13042/BORDON.2020.71484

Bauer-Marschallinger, S., Dalton-Puffer, C., Heaney, H., Katzingera, L., & Smith, U. (2023). CLIL for all? An exploratory study of reported pedagogical practices in Austrian secondary schools. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 26(9), 1050-1065. https://doi.org/10.1080/13670050.2021.1996533

Booth, T. & Ainscow, M. (2011). Index for inclusion. Developing learning and participation in schools (3rd ed.). CSIE.

Brown, A., & Croudace, T. J. (2015). Scoring and estimating score precision using multidimensional IRT models. In S. P. Reise & D. A. Revicki (Eds.), Multivariate applications series. Handbook of item response theory modeling: Applications to typical performance assessment (p. 307-333). Routledge/Taylor & Francis Group.

Coyle, D. (2013). Listening to learners: an investigation into 'successful learning' across CLIL contexts. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 16(3), 244-266. https://doi.org/10.1080/13670050.2013.777384

Coyle, D., & Meyer, O. (2021). Beyond CLIL: Pluriliteracies teaching for deeper learning. Cambridge University Press.

Fernández-Archilla, J. A., Álvarez, J. F., Aguilar-Parra, J. M., Trigueros, R., Alonso-López, I. D., and Echeita, G. (2020). Validation of the Index for Inclusion Questionnaire for compulsory secondary education students. Sustainability, 12(6), 2169. http://doi.org/10.3390/su12062169

Ferrando, P. J., & Lorenzo-Seva, U. (2013). Unrestricted item factor analysis and some relations with item response theory. Technical Report. Department of Psychology, Universitat Rovira i Virgili.

Ferrando, P. J., & Lorenzo-Seva, U. (2017). Program FACTOR at 10: Origins, development and future directions. Psicothema, 29(2), 236–240. https://doi.org/10.7334/psicothema2016.304

Ferrando, P. J., & Lorenzo-Seva, U. (2019). On the added value of multiple factor score estimates in essentially unidimensional models. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 79(2), 249–271. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013164418773851

Garrido, C. C., González, D. N., Seva, U. L., & Piera, P. J. F. (2019). Multidimensional or essentially unidimensional? A multi-faceted factor analytic approach for assessing the dimensionality of tests and items. Psicothema, 31(4), 450–457. https://doi.org/10.7334/psicothema2019.153

Hancock, G. R., & Mueller, R. O. (2001). Rethinking construct reliability within latent variable systems. In R. Cudek, S. H. C. du Toit & D. F. Sorbom (Eds.), Structural equation modeling: Present and future (pp. 195-216). Lincolnwood, IL: Scientific Software.

Lasagabaster, D., & Ruiz de Zarobe, Y. (Eds.) (2010). CLIL in Spain: Implementation, results and teacher training. Cambridge Scholars Publishing.

Linacre, J. M. (2025). A user’s guide to Winsteps: Rasch-model computer program. Program Manual 5.0. Winsteps.com

Madrid, D., Parra, E., & Ortega-Martín, J. L. (2018). Evaluación de los programas de AICLE en Andalucía. In J. L. Ortega-Martín, S. Hughes, & D. Madrid (Eds.), Influencia de la política educativa en la enseñanza bilingüe (pp. 41–53). Ministerio de Educación, Ciencia y Deporte (MECD).

Marcoulides, K. M., & Yuan, K. H. (2017). New ways to evaluate goodness of fit: a note on using equivalence testing to assess structural equation models. Structural Equation Modeling, 24(1), 148–153. https://doi.org/10.1080/10705511.2016.1225260

Martínez-Hita, F. J., Granero-Gallegos, A., & Gómez-López, M. (2022). Design and validation of a tool to evaluate CLIL in physical education sessions. Porta Linguarum, 2022(37), 193–210. https://doi.org/10.30827/portalin.vi37.17795

Mellor, D., & Moore, K. A. (2014). The use of Likert scales with children. Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 39(3), 369–379. https://doi.org/10.1093/jpepsy/jst079

Ministerio de Educación, Formación Profesional y Deportes (2024a). Las cifras de la educación en España. Estadísticas e indicadores. Edición 2024. Secretaría General Técnica

Ministerio de Educación, Formación Profesional y Deportes (2024b). Enseñanzas no universitarias. Alumnado con necesidad específica de apoyo educativo. Curso 2022-2023.https://www.educacionfpydeportes.gob.es/servicios-al-ciudadano/estadisticas/no-universitaria/alumnado/apoyo/2022-2023.html

Montoya, A. K., & Edwards, M. C. (2021). The poor fit of model fit for selecting number of factors in exploratory factor analysis for scale evaluation. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 81(3), 413–440. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013164420942899

Pérez-Cañado, M. L. (2021). Inclusion and diversity in bilingual education: A European comparative study. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 26(9), 1129–1145. https://doi.org/10.1080/13670050.2021.2013770

Pladevall-Ballester, E. (2015). Exploring primary school CLIL perceptions in Catalonia: Students’, teachers’ and parents’ opinions and expectations. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 18(1), 45–59. https://doi.org/10.1080/13670050.2013.874972

Polit, D. F., Beck, C. T., & Owen, S. v. (2007). Focus on research methods: Is the CVI an acceptable indicator of content validity? Appraisal and recommendations. Research in Nursing and Health, 30(4), 459–467. https://doi.org/10.1002/nur.20199

Reise, S. R., Cook, K. F., & Moore, T. M. (2015). Evaluating the impact of multidimensionality on unidimensional item response theory model parameters. In S. P. Reise & D. A. Revicki (Eds.), Handbook of item response theory modeling: Applications to typical performance assessment (pp. 13-40). Routledge.

Rodríguez, A., Reise, S. P., & Haviland, M. G. (2016). Applying bifactor statistical indices in the evaluation of psychological measures. Journal of Personality Assessment, 98(3). https://doi.org/10.1080/00223891.2015.1089249

Roiha, A. (2014). Teachers’ views on differentiation in content and language integrated learning (CLIL): Perceptions, practices and challenges. Language and E ducation , 28(1), 1-18. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500782.2012.748061

Samejima, F. (1969). Estimation of latent ability using a response pattern of graded scores. Psychometrika Monograph Supplement, 34(4, Pt. 2), 100.

Schwab, S., Sharma, U., & Loreman, T. (2018). Are we included? Secondary students’ perception of inclusion climate in their schools. Teaching and Teacher Education, 75, 31-39. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2018.05.016

Sellbom, M., & Tellegen, A. (2019). Factor analysis in psychological assessment research: Common pitfalls and recommendations. Psychological Assessment, 31(12), 1428–1441. https://doi.org/10.1037/pas0000623

Sharma, U., Sokal, L., Wang, M., & Loreman, T. (2021). Measuring the use of inclusive practices among pre-service educators: A multi-national study. Teaching and Teacher Education, 107(4), 103506, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2021.103506

Subban, P., Woodcock, S., Sharma, U., & May, F. (2022). Students’ experiences of inclusive education in secondary schools: A systematic review of the literature. Teaching and Teacher Education, 119, 103853. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2022.103853

Szczesniak, A., & Muñoz Luna, R. (2022). Teachers’ perceptions of Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) in primary schools in Andalusia. Porta Linguarum, 37, 237-257. https://doi.org/10.30827/portalin.vi37.18414

UNESCO (2017). Education transforms lives. United Nations Education, Scientific, and Cultural Center. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000247234_spa

Zhao, Y., Niu, J., Huang, J., & Meng, Y. (2024). A bifactor representation of the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale for children: gender and age invariance and implications for adolescents’ social and academic adjustment. Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health, 18(1), 27. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13034-024-00717-z