Perceptions of general education teachers in inclusive settings

The purpose of this study was to examine the collaborative relationships between general education teachers and their colleagues in school psychology and special education when in inclusive environments and to determine the effects of their perceptions on student-teacher relationships. Specifically, the researcher hypothesized that teachers with more knowledge and positive perceptions of their colleagues would have more positive relationships with the ASD included children in their classrooms. Consequently, those who have had children with ASD in their classes in the past were expected to be more knowledgeable about the field of school psychology and the special education department. Thirdly, training was hypothesized to be an important factor in the student-teacher relationship. A positive and significant correlation was found between knowledge of school psychology and closeness of relationship. While the data did not otherwise yield significant results, some interesting trends were found with respect to teachers\u27 perceptions of school psychologists and special education teachers in their schools