Construction and Validation of the Perception of Attention to Diversity Scale (PADS)

The main objective of this study was to develop and validate a reliable and valid scale that allows the measurement of the perception that teachers have of attention to diversity in the classroom: the Perception of Attention to Diversity Scale (PADS). To this end, 456 teachers answered a survey. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses confirmed a robust adjustment of the expected bifactorial structure. The two factors identified were the perception of attention (a) related to the Specific Educational Needs, with five items, and (b) related to cultural diversity, with four items. The patterns of relationship between the scale and its factors with other psychological variables supported the construct validity. The study provides a useful tool both to measure the perception that teachers have of the levels of attention to diversity they offer in the classroom, and to analyze the relationship that such perception can have with different study variables.