Senior teacher perceptions towards inclusion

Abstract

Research has been conducted on the perceptions that teachers have towards the inclusion of students with disabilities into the regular education classroom. The purpose of this study was to describe the perceptions of senior teachers towards inclusion before and after PL94-142, the Education of All Handicapped Children Act, came into effect. An experimenter-designed survey with 20 questions was distributed in Viola, WI to teachers in the Kickapoo School District in the spring of 2001. Senior teachers have experienced many important education changes over the years and they are aware of how education has changed for students with disabilities. This study will looked at the perceptions teachers have towards inclusion and identified the areas they feel have had a positive and negative effect on students with and without disabilities since the passage of PL94-142. The researcher plans to use the findings from this study to show how current educators view inclusion and the changes that have occurred with inclusion. Results of this study will be used to help others become more aware of the perceptions that both regular and special education teachers have towards the inclusion of students with disabilities in the regular education classroom.