The Role Of Cultural Competence In Shaping Disability Attitudes Among Educational Staff In Algeria

Abstract

This study examined the role of cultural competence in shaping disability attitudes among primary school teachers in M’Sila Province, Algeria. A descriptive cross-sectional design was employed, with 70 teachers from nine public primary schools participating. Teachers (65.7% male, 34.3% female) had an average of 9.6 years of teaching experience and represented various subject areas (Arabic, French, English, and Physical Education). Two instruments were utilized: the Disability Attitudes Scale (DAS), which comprises 20 Likert-type items and demonstrated a Cronbach’s alpha of .87 in its Arabic version, and the Cultural Competence Assessment Tool (CCAT), a 25-item measure divided into Cultural Awareness and Sensitivity and Cultural Competence Behaviors subscales (α = .90). Descriptive statistics indicated that teachers’ attitudes were generally neutral to moderately positive (M = 3.28, SD = 0.19). Pearson correlation analyses revealed a significant moderate positive relationship between cultural competence and disability attitudes (r = .45, p < .001), and simple linear regression showed that cultural competence significantly predicted disability attitudes (R² = .21, F(1, 68) = 17.53, p < .001). In addition, independent samples t-tests indicated that female teachers held more positive attitudes than male teachers, and one-way ANOVA confirmed significant differences in attitudes across teaching subjects. A positive association was also found between years of teaching experience and cultural competence (r = .26, p = .03). Findings suggest that culturally competent teaching practices may facilitate more inclusive attitudes, underscoring the need for targeted professional development.