Date of Award

3-2018

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science in Special Education

Department

Education

First Reader/Committee Chair

Nam, Sang

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to understand educators’ attitudes toward implementation of inclusive education. The survey study investigated the collaborative efforts, responsibility, accommodations, and training these educators are working towards teaching students in an inclusive environment. This study adopted a descriptive survey design, where 59 educators completed the online survey regarding their attitudes towards implementation of inclusive education. The opinions regarding necessary accommodations for students with IEPs were extremely supportive; whereby 98% of educators feel that they are willing to make necessary accommodations for students. Overwhelmingly, the educators disagree that they are not provided with sufficient training opportunities in order to teach students with disabilities. The educators agree that they need more training in order to appropriately plan and advocate effectively for students.

The major findings on research questions reveal that 53% of educators in this district strongly agree that they feel comfortable in working collaboratively with each other regarding students with IEPs. Also, 22% of educators strongly disagree that the regular education teachers should only be responsible for teaching students who are not identified as having special needs. In spite of the small sample which was a school district in Southern California that was used for this survey, the findings of the study were valuable for several reasons. First, the educators’ attitudes towards inclusive education were more positive than negative; and second, both special and general educators like to collaborate, display responsibility, and accommodate services to students with disabilities.

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