Abstract

This study aimed to create and validate an instrument to assess the educational team's attitudes and academic expectations towards students with Down syndrome (DS). The Attitudes and Academic Expectations toward students with Down syndrome Questionnaire (CAEASD) was elaborated following three steps: (1) design of the instrument, (2) content validation, and (3) construct validity and reliability. Teachers and educational assistants from public schools in San Bernardo, Chile, answered the instrument. Following the exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, the questionnaire was divided into two scales: attitudes and academic expectations. The first one was considered multidimensional: composed of subscales Emotions, Beliefs, and Actions, and the second one was one-dimensional. A significant correlation was observed between both scales and between the Attitude scale and its subscales. The CAEASD has proven to be a valid and reliable tool to assess the educational team's attitudes and academic expectations toward students with DS.