Supporting General Education Teachers in Inclusive Settings

Abstract

With inclusion becoming more prominent throughout the United States, educators need training and knowledge in reference to special education students. The increased rate of inclusion and the challenges surrounding entering an inclusive classroom (Dev & Haynes, 2015) has left general education teachers feeling underprepared to support students with disabilities in their classrooms (Avramidis et al., 2019). These educators could be better supported through training that includes pre-service training, required professional development once on-the-job, professional development outside of that required, and experience in the classroom. Through a survey model, data was analyzed regarding how the training and experience of general education staff on special education topics impacts their feelings towards teaching in an inclusive setting. In turn, this data can be used to determine what type of training and professional development is most useful when training general educators to work with students with disabilities in their classrooms.