An Examination of Educators' Attitudes Toward Inclusion

Abstract

:Educators responded to the Principals and Inclusion Survey, measuring the experiences, training, attitudes of educators toward inclusion, and beliefs about the most appropriate placement of students with disabilities. Results revealed that the educators held a positive view of the inclusion model. However, the educators did not believe that general education should be modified to meet the needs of all students. The educators indicated that they believed that most of their students with disabilities could be served appropriately from regular classroom instruction and the resource room. The more positive the educators’ inclusive attitude was, the less restrictive the learning environment was seen as most appropriate for specific learning disabilities, EBD, speech/language impairment, and autism/pervasive development disorder. Significant correlations were found between their attitude toward inclusion and the number of special education training courses taken, formal field-based training, and number of years of full-time special education teaching experience.