An Analysis of Leadership Responsibilities as Perceived by General Education and Special Education Teachers Participating in Co-Teaching Inclusion Programs

The purpose of this study was to explore the extent to which principals were utilizing Marzano\u27s 21 Leadership Responsibilities that were correlated to increased student achievement to implement, maintain, and support the inclusion programs in their schools according to the perceptions of 81 general education and 66 special education teachers participating in co-teaching inclusion programs located in Georgia\u27s First District Regional Education Service Agency (RESA) service area. The methodology for this quantitative research study utilized descriptive statistics and independent-samples t tests. The sample was obtained from general education and special education teachers\u27 perceptions in 18 school districts in Georgia\u27s First District RESA service area. Overall, general education teachers observed principal leadership to a greater extent for implementing, maintaining, and supporting inclusion than did special education teachers. Furthermore, significant differences were found between general education and special education teachers\u27 perceptions for 14 of 21 (66%) of the dependent variables for implementing inclusion, 18 of 21 (86%) of the dependent variables for maintaining inclusion, and 18 of 21 (86%) of the dependent variables for supporting inclusion