Education Commons^™

Teacher Perceptions Of Inclusion And Students With Autism, Nancy Keener

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Inclusion is considered the least restrictive environment for most students with disabilities. The purpose of this study was to examine teachers’ and administrators’ perceptions of inclusion in general education classrooms for students with autism. This included an examination of how schools determined placement for students with autism, the academic and social influences of placement in the general classroom, perceptions of teachers and administrators about inclusion for students with autism, teaching strategies that worked for students with autism in the general classroom, and the influence other students in the classroom have on students with autism. Participants in the study were from …

Teaching Evidence-Based Practices To Teachers, Jennifer M. Pena

Special Education ETDs

A convenience sample of 32 teachers (general and special education) and instructional coaches participated in professional development (PD) focused on finding, researching, and implementing evidence-based practices (EBPs) in a charter elementary/middle/high school that uses an inclusive model of special education services. Research questions addressed participants’ understandings and implementation of EBPs prior to and following the PD, as well as their reports about the PD model itself. Results indicated teachers had limited understanding of EBPs and knowledge of resources (i.e., where to find EBPs), and mixed reports of implementation prior to the PD. Throughout the study, participants reported a desire to …

Inclusive Service Delivery In Jesuit Secondary Education: A Case Study Of The Rodriguez Learning Services Program At Manresa Prep, Angelo Joseph Rizzo

Doctoral Dissertations

The documents and rhetoric of Jesuit Catholic education speak frequently of care for the individual (cura personalis) and caring for those most in need. Frequently, however, students with learning disabilities are admitted to Jesuit Catholic schools without any consideration as to whether the school can address a student’s individual learning needs. This study examined one particular program at one particular school – Rodriguez Learning Services at Manresa Prep -- that attempts to offer accommodations to students with learning disabilities. Through interviews and observations over a six-week period with students, faculty, staff, administration, and alumni, the study sought to identify whether …

The Inclusive Classroom: Perceptions Of General And Special Educators’ Preparedness To Meet The Needs Of Students With Disabilities, Allecia Frizzell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study was designed to determine whether kindergarten through eighth grade general education teachers and special education teachers were prepared to meet the needs of students with disabilities in inclusive classrooms. Conducted in Northeast Tennessee, an online survey was used to collect responses from participants in six school districts. The survey focused on four dimensions including perceptions of preparedness, attitudes towards inclusion, perceptions of administrator support and perceptions of self-efficacy. Data collected from 180 respondents were analyzed and informed the results of this study.

Findings indicated that special education teachers reported significantly higher levels of preparedness to meet the needs …

Educators' Attitudes Towards Implementation Of Inclusive Education, Kimberly Evans Holmes

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to understand educators’ attitudes toward implementation of inclusive education. The survey study investigated the collaborative efforts, responsibility, accommodations, and training these educators are working towards teaching students in an inclusive environment. This study adopted a descriptive survey design, where 59 educators completed the online survey regarding their attitudes towards implementation of inclusive education. The opinions regarding necessary accommodations for students with IEPs were extremely supportive; whereby 98% of educators feel that they are willing to make necessary accommodations for students. Overwhelmingly, the educators disagree that they are not provided with sufficient training opportunities in …

The Inclusion Of Students With Significant Disabilities And Their Access To The General Education, Megan E. Freeman

All Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Students with significant disabilities are continually placed in restrictive settings with a focus on functional and life skills becoming more excluded from their peers in the general education setting. This limits their access to the general education curriculum, requirements of No Child Left Behind (NCLD, 2002), Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA, 2004), and Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA, 2015). These mandates expect all students with disabilities to make progress on the grade-level content standards. They fail to explain to education professionals how they are to be implemented for students with significant disabilities. By defining the type of students who …

Including Students With Special Needs In A Mainstream Classroom In Cameroon, Elie Tcheimegni

Master's Theses

This qualitative study used a survey research design to collect perception data from ten general educators from Northern Cameroon to examine the attitudes and instructional efficacy of the regular education teacher towards the inclusion of learning disabled students in the Northern part of Cameroon in grades 9 to 12. The findings of this study indicated that there is a need to train general education teachers for inclusion. Participants believe general education teachers need supports, logistics, professional development and training in inclusion practices. They all mentioned teachers need training, support and resources. Teachers should possess the skills that facilitate all learning …

Parents’ Perspectives On Inclusive Schools For Students With Disabilities In Saudi Arabia, Bader Alsulami

Theses and Dissertations--Early Childhood, Special Education, and Counselor Education

In recent decades, inclusion has gained increasing international currency. In the Gulf region, Saudi Arabia in particular has made a sustained commitment to leadership in the humane, equitable inclusion of individuals with disabilities in its communities and the provision of appropriate, free public education for students with disabilities. Despite these achievements, students with disabilities remain segregated from general education students in separate classrooms, regardless of degree of disability. This study examined the perspectives of parents of students with and without disabilities in Saudi Arabia on placing their children in general education classrooms that are comprised of children with and without …

The Positive Effects On Attitude Among High School Students Towards Students With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Mario Castillo-Urbina

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Inclusion in the classroom requires that the local education agency provide services (i.e., direct, related) to support each student’s needs. The philosophy guiding inclusion is that these services will allow each student to keep pace or catch-up with his or her typically developing peers (Elkins, Van Kraayenoord, & Jobling, 2003). Students’ attitudes towards their peers with disabilities have been researched and reported through the years however, little work has examined these attitudes in a physical education setting (Archie & Sherrill, 1989; Block & Malloy, 1998; Block & Zeman, 1996; Tripp, French, & Sherrill, 1995). Researchers have reported that individuals avoid …

Assessing Reading And Mathematics Achievement Of Students With Disabilities In A Suburban Middle School, Terri Melissa Toomer

Theses and Dissertations

Co-teaching classrooms consist of general and special education teachers working together to benefit students with disabilities (SWDs). Many parents and teachers believe the content knowledge provided by general educators in the regular education setting, combined with the instructional service delivery model (SDM) expertise of special educators, will result in the greatest academic growth for SWDs. However, it is not known if SWDs served in one SDM progress at a faster rate than SWDs served in another SWD. Therefore, the focus of this study was to compare the reading and mathematics achievement of male and female middle school SDWs in two …

Attitudes And Effectiveness Of Teachers In Diverse Inclusive Classrooms, Pamela Moore-Mckinley

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Students with disabilities who participate in a fully inclusive educational program have failed to meet district or state goals for adequate yearly progress. This student population is explicitly recognized in state and federal accountability systems. The purpose for this study was to determine how certain factors affected the implementation of inclusive services at one school. This study investigated how teachers' attitudes and perceptions toward inclusion, level of education, exposure to people/students with disabilities, level of support, and knowledge of laws governing the education of students with disabilities affected inclusive classrooms. Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences was used as the theoretical …

Teachers' Perceptions And Attitudes Towards Inclusive Education In Sierra Leone, Christian Sesay

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The Salamanca Accord advocating the implementation of inclusive education for learners with special needs was signed in 1994, as well as the Convention of the Right of Person's with Disabilities in 2006. Yet, Sierra Leone faces challenges to implement fully inclusive education in schools. The purpose of this mixed-method study was to examine teachers' attitudes towards inclusion in mainstream classrooms. The conceptual framework for this study was premised on Azden's theory of planned-behavior, which maintains that attitude and behaviors are products of experiences acquired. Using a Spearman rho correlations and descriptive statistics to analyze the data, gender, age, educational background, …

The Pros And Cons Of Inclusion For Students With Autism Spectrum Disorder (Asd) In The Mainstream Classroom, Benjamin Kwofie

All Electronic Theses and Dissertations

General education placement are believed to offer innumerable benefits for students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), however, decisions about including students with ASD remain controversial. This thesis highlights the benefits and challenges of including students with ASD in the mainstream setting. Inclusion represents the belief or philosophy that students with disabilities should be integrated into the regular education classroom with the relevant support to enable them to succeed. ASD is a very complicated disability; there are various levels of ability a student with ASD may have and there are also many types of this disorder. There are several effective strategies …

Effective Inclusion Practices For The Academic And Social Success Of Students With Intellectual Disabilities, Caitlin J. Siems

All Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This paper includes a comprehensive literature review of the research and best practice implications for providing effective inclusion in the general education setting to individuals with intellectual disabilities. Similarly, it reviews the relevant research regarding effective inclusive practices in adaptive sports, unified programs, and extracurricular activities. The review seeks to answer questions regarding the impact inclusion has on the self-concept and adaptive behaviors of individuals with intellectual; disabilities and their typical functioning peers. The paper provides insights for best practice for educators and information regarding effective frameworks for inclusion in the classroom. Instructional and whole school models that include the …