General Educators' Attitudes toward Inclusion and Their Corresponding Adaptations to Curriculum

Abstract

The purpose of the current phenomenological study was to identify how general education teachers’ attitudes about inclusion affect the use of adaptations for students with disabilities when participating in the general education setting. Participants were nine female general education teachers in one of two primary schools in a middle-size urban school district located in Northeastern Minnesota during the 2009-2010 academic year. Results indicated educators’ attitudes were affected by their perceived ability to teach students with disabilities. Other influences included: integrated classroom management, benefits of integration, benefits of special vs. integrated education, and disability type. Factors affecting the use of adaptations were the type of adaptation, student factors, resource factors, adaptation factors, teacher factors, and perceptions of successful adaptations. Suggested areas of need include districts providing additional resources to support the inclusion of students with disabilities. Implications for current practice include further training of per-service and in-service educators, identifying resources necessary to train classroom aides in administering adaptations, and identifying specific resources and how to implement them into various school settings. Implications for future research include further investigation of inclusion patterns based on disability type and further study of teacher perceptions of successful adaptations.