Administrators' and Teachers' Perceptions of the Collaborative Efforts of Inclusion in the Elementary Grades

Recent efforts at reform in education have engendered considerable debate about the primacy of place in the education of students with disabilities (Deno, 1970; Dorn, Fuchs, & Fuchs, 1996; Dunn, 1968; Kauffman & Smucker, 1995; Keefe & Davis, 1998; Will, 1986). Over the past 30 years, supported by legislation (P.L. 94-142, 1975 and its reauthorizations up to P.L. 105-17, 1997), litigation (c.f., Brown v. Board of Education, 1954; Mills v. Board of Education of District of Columbia, 1972; Oberti v. Clementon, 1993; Parc v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, 1972), professional organizations (Council for Exceptional Children, 1993; National Association of State Boards of Education, 1992; National Education Association 1994; National Joint Council on Learning Disabilities, 1993; The Association for Persons with Severe Handicaps, 1992), and advocates (Gartner & Lipskey, 1987; Goodlad, 1984; Stainback, Stainback, & Forest, 1989; Villa & Thousand, 1990), educators have moved, reluctantly or assuredly, away from segregation of students with disabilities in special classes and toward the inclusion of such students in general education classes. The movement toward inclusion of students with disabilities in general education classrooms has raised numerous questions about the roles and responsibilities of school personnel in providing appropriate education for all students enrolled in our public schools. More specifically recent literature on the inclusion of students with disabilities in general education settings has focused on the preparedness of administrators and educators to develop and implement inclusive models of education that address the social and academic needs of all students served in general education classrooms (Barnett & Monda-Amaya, 1998; Brownell & Pajares, 1999; Cook, Semmel, & Gerber, 1999; Semmel, Abernathy, Butera, & Lesar, 1991; Waldron, McLesky, & Pacchiano, 1999). As inclusion requires the collaboration between general and special education, researchers must analyze the phenomenon of classroom teachers' and building administrators' perceptions about including students with disabilities in general education settings. Because building administrators and teachers are responsible for inclusion in schools, it is imperative that their perceptions be recognized by policy makers. School personnel are the ones who make change happen (Greene, 1993; Rankin et al., 1994). Research supports the fact that teacher expectations influence student achievement, behavior, and self-esteem (Brophy & Good, 1974; Conway, 1989; Fuchs, Fuchs, & Norris, 1994; Kornblau and Keogh, 1980). If teacher perceptions of students with disabilities are negative then including such students in general education classrooms may not result in a beneficial experience for the students. It would be important to consider teachers' and building administrators' perceptions as these may have a great impact on the inclusion of students with disabilities. Research has indicated that general education teachers do not always feel prepared to teach students who have special needs, and special and general education teachers often lack the skills in teaming and collaboration needed to teach students with disabilities in the general education classroom (Schuum, Vaughn, Gordon, & Rothlein, 1994). Further, many school systems are not offering continuing inservice to help teachers with these needs. Research also has suggested that administrators' attitudes toward students with disabilities are especially critical for inclusion to succeed due to the administrators' leadership role in developing and operating educational programs in their schools (Ayres & Meyers, 1992; Gameros, 1995). Moreover, Phillips, Alfred, Brulle, and Shank (1990) found that teachers believed that the guidance and positive support of the principal was critical as teachers began to implement inclusion. Bang (1993) stated that building administrators' support was positively related to teachers' use of instructional strategies that resulted in successful inclusion of students with moderate and severe disabilities in the elementary general education classroom. …