Date of Award
Winter 12-13-2019
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctorate of Education, Ed.D.
College
College of Education
Department
Education
First Advisor
Leslie Loughmiller, Ed.D.
Second Advisor
Sarah Everts, Ph.D.
Third Advisor
Clayton Alford, Ed.D.
Abstract
School systems across the United States have integrated students with disabilities into the general education classroom creating an inclusive environment where general and special education students can learn side by side. Within the inclusion classroom, general education and special education teachers collaborate to design and implement instruction for all student learners. Therefore, it is critical to understand the attitudes of general and special education teachers and reveal the factors that influence the beliefs they hold regarding the inclusion classroom. The beliefs held by inclusion teachers are a crucial factor to the success of students with disabilities in the inclusion setting as measured by New York State Regents Exams. An explanatory case study was used to understand the perspectives of the participants, learn about their experiences, and understand individual perceptions within the inclusion setting. General education and special education teachers from an urban high school in New York completed questionnaires and open-ended interviews discussing their attitudes and beliefs towards inclusion. Using the data, the researcher identified the factors that influenced the development of instruction and the reasons for the decreasing in achievement levels among students with disabilities in the inclusion classroom.