The Impact of Life Skills Students on General Education Elementary Teachers\u27 Attitudes Toward Inclusive Education

Numerous general education teachers are including students with disabilities in the classroom. The range of academic, emotional, and behavioral needs of students grows with more inclusion occurring classrooms. This qualitative single case study addressed two questions. First, how does the inclusion of life skills students (students with severe disabilities) impact teachers’ views on inclusive education? That question also included sub questions of how do (primary, intermediate, and specialist) teachers describe their attitude toward, and experience with, inclusive education? Secondly, how do elementary teachers describe successful supports and resources that enable them to successfully practice inclusive education in a school that includes life skills students in the general education classroom? The researcher intended to provide insight from one school that practices inclusion regularly and to explore its impact on general education teachers’ attitude toward inclusion. Through semi-structured interviews, participating teachers tended to have a positive attitude and encouraged the inclusion of life skills students (students with severe disabilities). Even though participating teachers tended to have a positive attitude toward inclusion, there were several supports and resources that teachers needed to create a successful general education classroom. In general, teachers in this study needed more time, training, and qualified assistants. The implications and recommendations for future research based on the findings from this study are discussed