Regular Education Teachers and Regular Education Students Attitudes Toward Inclusion Students

¶ … attitude of regular education and regular education teachers toward inclusion students. The writer explores the factors that come into play when implementing full inclusion of students with special education needs into a regular education classroom. The writer used six sources to complete this paper. Years ago, special education students were shuffled down to the end of the hall in a classroom that was far away from the mainstream students of the school.

They not only had separate classrooms but often had different lunch periods and recess, which meant they never co-mingled with the regular education population (Cawley, 2002). In the 1960's the federal government declared such practice illegal and mandated that special education students were to be educated in the least restrictive environment. For the past four decades educational systems have scrambled to figure out exactly what that means and then comply with it. The end result has been the complete full day inclusion of as many special education students as possible nationwide.

With this inclusion there have been a large number of demands made on regular education teachers to comply with the federal mandates as laid out in the Individual Education Plans of the special education students (Killoran, 2002). Historically it has been accepted that a teacher's attitude can make or break a student. With the relatively recent movements to include students with special needs in the regular education classrooms it is important to assess the attitudes of the regular education students and teachers toward the special education students who have joined them.

POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE ASPECTS There are many positive aspects to the use of inclusion of special education students to the regular classrooms. Some of them include the ability of the students to cross teach and cross learn as they draw from each other's strength and weaknesses (Pivik, 2002). In addition the use of inclusion is believed to better prepare both the regular education students and the special education students for the adult world as it is filled with diverse abilities and disabilities in every sector of life.

There is a belief by inclusion advocates that the use of inclusion beginning in the elementary years and continuing through the high school years will prepare the students for the world instead of insulate them from its reality (Pivik, 2002). Before one can begin to assess the impact that regular education students and teachers have about inclusion it is important to have an understanding about the success or failure of inclusion programs. Overall studies have shown that the act of inclusion is successful.

More special education students than ever before are entering and completing college, and obtaining positions outside of the previously expected fast food or blue collar ceiling. While the success of inclusion has been proven through scientific data, studies have also shown that parents have concerns about the ability and attitude of the regular education teachers in the process.

The success of the inclusion movement will be largely determined by the attitudes of those involved; this includes both attitudes of parents and students as well as educational administrators and teachers (Jones, 2002)." In the past research had found that the majority of teacher surveys regarding their attitude about inclusion of special education students to their regular education classroom were against it. They tended to favor the segregation of the special education students from the regular education students.

Further study determined that much of this attitude had to do with the regular education teachers' perceived lack of training and confidence when it came to meeting the needs of special education students within their regular education classroom. Most of the past research pertaining to the inclusion movement involved exclusively the attitudes of teachers. However, in the massive "matrix of factors" (Chow & Winzer, 1989, p. 78) that contributes to successful integration, we must not ignore the attitudes of both parents and students.

In the past, teachers' attitudes towards special needs students tended to lean towards segregation in special education classrooms (Goupil & Brunet, 1984). However, attitudes towards inclusion among educators tend to be progressively more positive as the movement gains momentum (Marcovitch, Vachon, MacGregor, & Campbell, 1993).

Whether a similar tendency exists for parents and students will determine, to a certain extent, if total inclusion will indeed be successful in practice or perhaps a less extreme alternative may be more appropriate (Jones, 2002)." As time moves forward however, teachers are receiving better training in how to teach and accommodate the special education students in their classrooms and this has produced a more positive attitude toward the idea of inclusion into regular education classes.

While it is evidenced that regular education teachers are changing what used to be a negative attitude into what is beginning to be a positive attitude about the overall benefits of inclusion, the teachers are not the only factors when it comes to attitude about inclusion. Many studies have been conducted about the impact the social aspect of school has on the student ability to learn.

Students who are uncomfortable or anxious in the class and on the playground have been documented to have a more difficult time learning and retaining educational material. This can be caused by being bullied or by a general refusal for the students to accept the victim into the fold. Special education students often already feel that they do not fit in or that they are different than their regular education counter parts.

This makes the attitude of the regular education students toward inclusion and the students it benefits significantly important in the outcome of inclusion programs (Jones, 2002). Studies as well as anecdotal.