Teacher attitudes toward inclusion: implications for teacher education in Schools 2000

Inclusion Inclusion is a term used by the education reform movement to challenge schools to the philosophy that all students can learn, even those with disabilities. The terms used in the special education literature prior to the reform movement were Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) and mainstreaming. LRE is the language of the Education for the Handicapped Children Act (EHA) passed in 1975 by the U.S. Congress and states that all children with disabilities should be educated to the maximum extent possible with their nondisabled peers. From this evolved the term mainstreaming with its focus on placement of disabled students in general education classes. The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 also focused attention on the inclusion of the disabled in schools and the work force in the private as well as public sector. Many researchers, including Will (1986), Wang and Walberg (1988), Lilly (1988), and Stainback and Stainback (1992), directed their efforts toward inclusion programming. Inclusion has become the buzz word across the United States. Since the passage of the Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975 (PL 94-142) and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) of 1990 (PL 101-476) there has been a mandate that eligible students with special needs be provided with an array of services at the site they would attend if they did not have special needs and that this must be in the least restrictive environment. In establishing programs for persons with special needs to participate in an inclusive setting, it has been suggested that several components should be included such as an atmosphere and culture for change, the provision of an opportunity to articulate a vision of inclusion, the planning and provision of appropriate resources, monitoring and documenting progress, and the provision of ongoing training for the staff and families. Ortiz and Garcia (1988) suggest that in providing an appropriate education, a pre-referral process should be employed to reduce the number of inappropriate referrals and ensure appropriate support services for the persons with special needs. As we move toward the education goals for the schools 2000, the current trend in the United States is to serve students with special needs in inclusive settings with persons who are not disabled as much as possible. The research reported by Slavin (1987, 1990) demonstrated that students with special needs improved their social interaction and academic performance in inclusive settings. West and Idol (1991) reported that students with special needs in the regular education settings required collaboration on the part of all persons who serve the students. Davis (1989) reported that if inclusion is to be implemented successfully, it must become integrated into the entire education system to meet the diverse needs of all students. For the implementation of the concept of full inclusion to take place, everyone, including the parents, teachers, administrators, and other related service staff must buy into the concept of full inclusion. Inclusion as it has been embraced by the special education field appears to have many meanings. To these authors, inclusion means providing a full continuum of service delivery options to all students with special needs. Students in inclusive schools work in flexible learning environments with the implementation of teaching strategies such as cooperative learning, peer mediated learning, collaborative and team teaching (Schragg & Burnette, 1993). The present study was designed to evaluate teacher attitudes toward inclusion in South Carolina. We hypothesized that greater support through teacher training, in-school services, and resources would be associated with a more positive attitude toward inclusion. Method Three hundred and sixty-four surveys were randomly distributed to teachers throughout South Carolina. Three hundred and forty-two surveys (94%) were returned. …