The purpose of this non-experimental, quantitative research study was to examine if a predictive relationship existed between general educators' perceived self-efficacy, attitudes toward inclusion, and the reading achievement of special needs students in an urban school district in the Midwestern United States. A convenience sample of 65 middle school reading teachers participated in the study. The theory of planned behavior, self-efficacy theory, and social cognitive theory provided a theoretical understanding of how inclusion affects the attitude and behaviors of teachers. Attitudes and beliefs affect behavior by determining what a middle school teacher does and does not do, thereby affecting what the student with a disability receives in the classroom. A simple linear regression was used to test the hypotheses according to scores generated from the Teachers' Sense of Efficacy Scale (TSES) short form and the Scale of Teachers' Attitude Toward Inclusive Classrooms (STATIC). The results of both simple linear regression analyses determined that neither the TSES nor the STATIC were found to be significant predictors of the change in Ohio Academic Achievement (OAA) reading test scores during the 2012-2013 school years. The results of this study added to the knowledge base of the field by examining the predictive relationship between teacher perceptions of their self-efficacy, attitudes, and regarding inclusion and the reading achievement of special education students that have been included in a general education classroom for reading instruction.

This book focuses on the effect of psychological, social and demographic variables on student achievement and summarizes the current research findings in the field. It addresses the need for inclusive and interpretive studies in the field in order to interpret student achievement literature and suggests new pathways for further studies. Appropriately, a meta-analysis approach is used by the contributors to show the big picture to the researchers by analyzing and combining the findings from different independent studies. In particular, the authors compile various studies examining the relationship between student achievement and 21 psychological, social and demographic variables separately. The philosophy behind this book is to direct future research and practices rather than addressing the limits of current studies.

Many middle school students with learning disabilities obtain their education in general education classrooms. These classroom settings are referred to as inclusion classrooms. We must not only consider that the student population is becoming increasingly more diverse, but we must also consider that the educators who teach in these type of classrooms are diverse as well. Teacher qualifications, training, and education that educators receive before and after entering a classroom can be quite varied and really important when considering the work that needs to be done to ensure successful inclusion classrooms. Within an inclusion classroom, success requires a collaborative instructional effort between special educators, general educators, and para-educators. The purpose of this research is to highlight teacher diversity in qualifications and training and identify factors that make teachers feel more or less confident in inclusion classrooms. This research explains key components of teaching - classroom management, instructional strategies, and student engagement - and the similarities and differences found between teachers in inclusion classrooms. This research is very important to all involved in the teaching and learning in inclusion classrooms, to include aspiring teachers, new teachers, experienced teachers, paraprofessionals, educational specialists, professional development and training staff, instructors for teachers, administrators, and policy makers. KEY SEARCH TERMS: administration, alternative teaching, attitudes, attrition, behaviors, bias, Bonferroni's Post Hoc Test, burnout, classroom management, co-teaching models, collaboration, confounding variable, content review, curriculum, disabilities, educational goals, educators, efficacy, Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), general education, Gibson and Dembo Teacher Efficacy Scale, inclusion classroom models, Individual with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA), instructional content, instructional management, instructional model, instructional models, instructional practices, instructional strategies, lack of motivation, lead/support model, learning disabilities, Levene's Test of Equality of Error, models, motivation, No Child Left Behind (NCLB), para-educator, para-professionals, parallel teaching, pre-service, professional development & training, retention, role models, self-efficacy, socialization, special education services, station teaching, stress, student behaviors, student engagement, teacher experience, teacher qualifications, teacher self-efficacy, teacher training, Teachers' Sense of Efficacy Scale (TSES), team teaching model, vicarious experiences, years of experience

The purpose of this quantitative, correlational study was to examine if the English instructional setting and special education disability predict the reading achievement of middle school students with disabilities. The findings of this study are useful in determining the effectiveness of inclusion in the English general education classroom for students with specific learning disability (SLD), attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and speech and language impairment (SLI). The 116 participants of this study are middle school students enrolled in a public middle school in Georgia. All participants received special education services through the implementation of an Individual Education Plan (IEP). Archival data was used for data collection. A multiple regression analysis was used to analyze the relationships among two predictor variables and one criterion variable. The predictor variables were special education eligibility category and English instructional setting. The criterion variable was reading achievement measured by the Spring 2020 Measures of Academic Progress reading scores. The results of the study determined eligibility category and English instructional setting were not statistically significant predictors of MAP reading scores for SWDs. However, special education category was statistically significant in predicting reading RIT scores. Future research should expand the research to include general education students and SWDs who receive English instruction in the special education classroom.