An Observational Study of How Elementary Non-Disabled Students Are Academically and Behaviorally Affected by the Inclusion of a Student with Mental Retardation in the General Education Classroom

The current trend in special education involves providing services for students with disabilities in general education settings instead of pull-out programs (Cheney & Muscott, 1996), even students with mental retardation (MR). While inclusion may benefit students with disabilities, little is known concerning how inclusive education impacts the learning opportunities of the other students in the classroom. The current observational study involved four second grade students without disabilities (2 male and 2 female) in a classroom in which a student with MR was included. The purpose of this study was to record and analyze the academic responding (AR) and inappropriate behaviors (IB) that were exhibited by the nondisabled students in three conditions: (a) when the student with MR was in the classroom without the assistance of a full-time paraprofessional (para); (b) when the student with MR was accompanied by the para; and (c) when the student with MR and the para were absent from the classroom. Within an alternating treatments design, the results indicated that the students’ AR was lowest when the student with MR was in the classroom without the help of the para, higher when the student with MR received para assistance, and highest when the student with MR and para were out of the room. Conversely, the students’ IB were highest when the para was not present to assist the student with MR, lower when the para was available, and lowest when the student with MR and his para left the classroom. Implications for service delivery and future research were discussed