The Effects of Training on Teachers\u27 Perceptions of Inclusion of Students with Intellectual Disabilities

In today’s society, many general education and special education teachers struggle with the concept of inclusion of students with intellectual disabilities (ID) in the general education classroom setting and perceive that inclusion of ID students impedes the learning of others. The purpose of this project was to establish if a 60-min training session on the benefits of inclusion would alter teachers’ perceptions of inclusion of children with ID in the general education setting as measured by a pre- and post-training rating scale. Forty-eight general education and special education school teachers participated. Of the 48 participants, 47 had special education experience and 33 had students with ID in their classroom this calendar school year. I developed and delivered a 60-min training module describing benefits of inclusion for students and ways that teachers can actively involve students with ID in general education classrooms. Differences in pre- and post-test scores determined whether participants altered their perception of inclusion. The results from the data I collected on the pre- and post-tests showed that inclusion training did alter teacher’s perceptions of inclusion. On average, 51.36% of the general educators’ ratings of statements changed from pre-test to post-test, and 42.88% of the special educator’s ratings of statements changed from the pre-test to the post-test. Of the 22 general education participants, 93% of the changed ratings to the statements from pre-test to post-test were favorable to inclusion, while 7% were unfavorable to inclusion. Of the 26 special education participants, 91% of the changed ratings to the statements from pre-test to post-test were favorable to inclusion, and 9% were unfavorable to inclusion. Implications of my findings show that a 60-min inclusion training for educators is effective and can alter teacher’s previous perceptions of the benefits of inclusion for all students