Perceptions and Attitudes of Administrators and Teachers Towards Inclusion

The purpose of the researcher was to investigate the attitudes of building administrators and teachers towards inclusion. The following independent variables were investigated: years of experience, building grade level, college hours in special education, position and amount of formal education. The dependent variables were scores from the following subscales of the Schools and the Education for All Students survey: Scale 1 (Attitudes Towards Inclusion), Scale 2 (Support System for Inclusion) and Total. The sample consisted of 158 administrators and teachers. Five composite null hypotheses were tested, employing a three-way analysis of variance (general linear model) at the .0500 level. A total of 54 comparisons were made plus 51 recurring. Of the 54 comparisons, 15 were for main effects and 39 were for interactions. Of the 15 main effects, 11 were significant at the .0500 level. Of the 39 interactions, 9 were significant at the .0500 level. The results of the present study appeared to support the following generalizations: 1. administrators and teachers with 1-15 years of experience have more positive attitudes towards inclusion than those with 16-24, 2. administrators have a more positive attitude towards support systems than those in other positions, 3. paraprofessionals have a more positive attitude towards support systems than special education teachers, 4. years of experience and grade level should be interpreted concurrently for attitudes towards support systems, 5. years of experience and grade level should be interpreted concurrently for attitudes towards and support systems for inclusion, 6. grade level and position should be interpreted concurrently for attitudes towards and support systems for inclusion, 7. grade level and amount of formal education should be interpreted concurrently for attitudes towards inclusion, 8. years of experience, grade level and amount of formal education should be interpreted concurrently for attitudes towards inclusion, 9. grade level and amount of formal education should be interpreted concurrently for attitudes for inclusion, 10. grade level and amount of formal education should be interpreted concurrently for attitudes towards and support systems for inclusion, 11. years of experience, grade level and amount of formal education should be interpreted concurrently for attitudes towards and support systems for inclusion, 12. grade level and position should be interpreted concurrently for attitudes towards inclusion, and 13. administrators and teachers had a positive attitude towards inclusion