Teacher attitude towards inclusion practices and special needs students

• Published in: Journal of research in special educational needs Vol. 9; no. 3; pp. 188 - 198
• Main Author: Ross-Hill, Rorie
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.11.2009; Wiley-Blackwell
• Subjects: Attitudes; Classrooms; Elementary School Teachers; Inclusion; Inclusive education; Inclusive Schools; Mainstreaming; Public Schools; Regular and Special Education Relationship; regular education teachers; Rural communities; Rural Schools; Secondary School Teachers; Secondary schools; Southeastern USA; Special education; special education teachers; Special Needs Students; Students; Teacher Attitudes
• ISSN: 1471-3802; 1471-3802
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1471-3802.2009.01135.x

This paper investigates the varying attitudes of regular (mainstream) education teachers towards the implementation of inclusion in elementary and secondary school classrooms. This paper tries to take into account the need for a better understanding of teacher attitude towards inclusion and how the inclusive environment can be improved. The present paper concentrates on examining whether there is a difference in attitude between elementary regular education teachers and secondary regular education teachers. The participants of this study were 73 teachers from three public elementary and secondary schools in rural, southeastern USA who completed the Scale of Teachers' Attitudes Towards Inclusive Classrooms (STATIC). The results indicated that most teachers support the practice of inclusion in regular education classrooms or possess a neutral consensus towards the practice of inclusion as it relates to teaching assignment. For example, grade level, subject area or type of inclusion practice (full or partial). Meaning that the results for this study were mixed.