General Education Teachers' Perceptions of Inclusion of Students with Disabilities in the Regular Classroom Sharon Ruth Stidham-Smith, Ph.D. The University of Texas at Austin, 2013 Supervisor: James L. Schaller This exploratory descriptive study was conducted to examine the perceptions of general public school teachers regarding inclusion of students with disabilities in their classroom. Instruments used to measure the concepts studied include an Inclusion Inventory followed by additional open-ended questions. A sample of general education public school teachers, who have had a child with a disability in their classroom, was recruited from a Texas regional school district. The research questions asked about the teachers' educational teams, their grade level assignment, and the number of years taught; followed by open ended questions that included the participants' definition of inclusion, their experiences and challenges, training in inclusion, and the concept of the general education teacher having sole responsibility for all the students in the class. Inclusion teams were found to be an important aspect of this study. The participants reported the success (or lack of success) of their inclusive classroom often depended on their inclusion team. In particular, special education coordination with vii administration support in finding solutions for unacceptable classroom behavior, time management, and class size. Many respondents felt further preservice and inservice training on how this support can be accomplished that includes administration as well as general and special education teachers was one avenue that could help realize an inclusive classroom that was beneficial to all. What exactly would be emphasized in this inclusion training was not stated. The inclusive practices and strategies discussed in this study require further research in order to determine what could be called a 'best practice' in the inclusive classroom.

In today's society, many general education and special education teachers struggle with the concept of inclusion of students with intellectual disabilities (ID) in the general education classroom setting and perceive that inclusion of ID students impedes the learning of others. The purpose of this project was to establish if a 60-min training session on the benefits of inclusion would alter teachers' perceptions of inclusion of children with ID in the general education setting as measured by a pre- and post-training rating scale. Forty-eight general education and special education school teachers participated. Of the 48 participants, 47 had special education experience and 33 had students with ID in their classroom this calendar school year. I developed and delivered a 60-min training module describing benefits of inclusion for students and ways that teachers can actively involve students with ID in general education classrooms. Differences in pre- and post-test scores determined whether participants altered their perception of inclusion. The results from the data I collected on the pre- and post-tests showed that inclusion training did alter teacher's perceptions of inclusion. On average, 51.36% of the general educators' ratings of statements changed from pre-test to post-test, and 42.88% of the special educator's ratings of statements changed from the pre-test to the post-test. Of the 22 general education participants, 93% of the changed ratings to the statements from pre-test to post-test were favorable to inclusion, while 7% were unfavorable to inclusion. Of the 26 special education participants, 91% of the changed ratings to the statements from pre-test to post-test were favorable to inclusion, and 9% were unfavorable to inclusion. Implications of my findings show that a 60-min inclusion training for educators is effective and can alter teacher's previous perceptions of the benefits of inclusion for all students.

The Individuals with Disability Education Act (IDEA) states that students with special needs should be educated to the maximum extent possible in the general education setting. Full inclusion practices allow students with special needs to be educated in the general education setting while receiving services for their unique needs. This study aimed to determine if general education teachers held negative perceptions toward full-inclusion practices and students with special needs. Furthermore, the study aimed to discover if there was a correlation between general education teachers' negative perceptions and the implementation of full inclusion practices. Through a Likert scale survey, current K-12 general education teachers across the United States rated 10 perception statements regarding their feelings towards full inclusion and students with special needs. The data indicated that the overall average score for respondents was in the neutral to slightly positive range. For perception statements regarding special needs students specifically, the average overall score fell more in the positive range; however, the average overall scores were negative when viewing perception statements regarding full inclusion practices. General education teachers who teach full inclusion were found to have the most positive perceptions toward full inclusion practices and students with special needs. General education teachers with full inclusion practices on their campuses had the next highest rate of positive perceptions. In contrast, general education teachers who did not work on inclusion campuses or in inclusive classrooms held the most negative perceptions. The data implies that the more exposure teachers have to full inclusion practices and students with special needs, the more positive their perceptions. It can also be assumed that full inclusion practices cannot be successfully implemented while general education teachers hold negative perceptions towards full inclusion and students with special needs.