Despite numerous international conventions and declarations promoting inclusive education, many university students with disabilities do not complete their studies. This highlights a critical need for faculty training in inclusive teaching practices and motivational techniques. Existing literature demonstrates a significant gap in the training provided to university faculty in this area. While some institutions have developed training programs, these often face challenges related to teachers' limited time and availability. This paper addresses this gap by examining the effectiveness of a concise, online training program designed specifically for online university faculty. The research question is: How can training facilitate online university teachers to acquire knowledge to improve their skills and motivation in the inclusion of students with disabilities? The study aims to contribute significantly to the limited research on organizing and planning effective teacher training for inclusive virtual classrooms.

The introduction cites numerous conventions and declarations emphasizing inclusive education, including the Convention against Discrimination in Education (UNESCO, 1960), the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (UN, 1966), and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN, 2006). The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (UN, 2015) further reinforces this commitment to inclusive higher education. However, despite these efforts, many students with disabilities do not finish their university studies. This necessitates improved faculty training, given the essential role educators play in student success. The authors review several existing training initiatives, including those from Utah State University, the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council (SHEFC), and various guides and online resources. While some evaluations show positive results, the limited availability of teachers' time is identified as a significant barrier. Existing training should ideally incorporate theoretical and practical knowledge about disability, curricular adaptations, and new teaching methodologies. The introduction also highlights the unique benefits of online learning for students with disabilities and the scarcity of studies focused on online teacher training for inclusion. The lack of faculty trained in disability inclusion, particularly in Spain, is a key motivation for this research, as highlighted by several Spanish reports and studies cited.

This study employs a qualitative approach guided by COREQ and RATS guidelines. A 20-minute training video was developed and delivered to 24 potential participants, all experienced online university instructors from the Madrid Open University (MOU). Twenty teachers completed an open-ended questionnaire assessing their knowledge and attitudes before and after the training. Participants were selected based on their experience in online university teaching and their participation in the training. Convenience sampling was used due to time constraints. The questionnaire covered aspects of conceptual skills (understanding of special educational needs and UDL principles), curricular adaptation skills (in teaching and assessment), social-relational skills (attitudes and perceptions of inclusive environments), communication skills (in online settings), digital skills (selecting appropriate ICT resources), and motivations for inclusion. Three researchers independently coded the responses, and a fourth researcher reviewed their work. The analysis identified three response categories: positive, neutral, and negative, which reflected the changes in the teachers' skills and motivation. The data were analyzed by teacher experience level (high, medium, low) and by each characteristic to identify patterns and trends.

The results show that the training had positive effects on all aspects evaluated, but the impact varied across teacher experience levels. Low-level teachers showed a higher percentage of positive effects than high-level teachers, suggesting the training's greater effectiveness for those with less prior experience. In conceptual skills, while high-level teachers often exhibited neutral effects, lower-level teachers demonstrated a significant increase in understanding of special educational needs and UDL principles. Similarly, positive effects were prominent in medium- and low-level teachers concerning curricular adaptation skills. High-level teachers showed predominantly neutral effects in the skills related to assessment adaptation. In social-relational skills, positive effects on attitude were more pronounced among low-level teachers, while neutral effects were dominant among medium and high-level teachers, with one negative effect observed. Medium-level teachers showed positive effects in their perspective on the enriching influence of students with special needs. Positive effects in digital skills were again more prevalent in medium- and low-level teachers. High-level teachers had a mix of neutral and positive effects in this area. The study also reveals that the training positively impacted teachers' motivation for inclusive practices, particularly among medium- and high-level teachers. Suggestions for improvement mostly centered around clearer conceptual explanations, more case studies, and more detailed descriptions of classroom applications, indicating that high-level teachers proposed the most suggestions, highlighting the need for more sophisticated adaptations. While the positive effects outnumbered negative effects overall, neutral effects were more frequent across many characteristics, particularly among high-level teachers.

The findings confirm that the training positively impacted online university teachers' knowledge and motivation concerning inclusive practices. The greater impact on low-level teachers suggests that the training is most effective for those with limited prior experience. The predominance of neutral effects among high-level teachers may be due to their existing knowledge and the introductory nature of the training, suggesting a need for more tailored, advanced training. The high number of suggestions related to conceptual clarity, case studies, and practical applications indicates that the training should be revised and enriched with concrete examples and real-world scenarios to better meet the needs of teachers. The qualitative methodology supports a deep understanding of teachers' experiences and feedback, while also acknowledging the limitation of not being able to generalize the findings to the wider population. Future quantitative studies are needed to validate these findings on a larger scale and further quantify the relationship between training and teacher competencies and motivation.

This study demonstrates that the proposed online training program can improve university faculty's competencies and motivation for inclusive practices. The effectiveness is particularly noticeable in teachers with less prior experience. However, the need for further improvement in the training's structure and content, as evidenced by teachers' suggestions, is crucial. Future research should employ quantitative methods to broaden the scope and enhance the generalizability of the findings.

The study's qualitative methodology and relatively small sample size limit the generalizability of the findings to other contexts and populations. The convenience sampling may also introduce bias, as participants might be more motivated toward inclusive education than the broader population of university faculty. The focus on a single institution and country (Spain) also restricts the wider applicability of the results.